Twist of Fate
by MissyMo2005
Summary: Loosley based around the events of series 2. Molly is an aid worker at the refugee camp. When she's taken hostage two section and Captain James are tasked with finding her.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone, me again... So my intention was to leave writing for a while and concentrate on feeling like a human again, but I seem to have some kind of addiction to writing because I found myself starting yet another story while I was supposed to be resting. As I've started it I thought I'd put it on here for you to read and hopefully enjoy! I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, you might have to patient with me since I'm now trying to write three things at once (oops!) but enjoy and let me know what you think!_

"Well, ain't that just bleedin' marvellous." She groaned, looking out of the window of the small medical centre that had been her life now for three years. She chucked her pen down on the desk and stood up, walking to the door to get a better look.

"Molly? What's wrong?" Nafula called, turning to look at her over her shoulder as she carried on treating the small child in front of her.

"It's fine." She called back over her shoulder. "It's just the bleedin' British Army have turned up, thinking they're here to save the day." She rolled her eyes.

"The Army?" Nafula frowned. "I wonder what they want."

"I think we're about to find out." Molly grimaced, stepping out in to the blistering Kenyan sun. She stood just outside the doorway of the clinic, arms folded as the soldiers climbed out of the truck they'd parked just outside the front of the clinic.

"Can I help you?" She asked, forcing herself to remain polite as she walked towards them.

"And you are?" He asked, looking her up and down questioningly. She was tiny, that was his first thought as she stood in front of him. Her hair was scraped back off her face and the blue shirt she wore seemed to drown her.

"I think you'll find I asked you first." She retorted. She'd already decided she didn't like him, the last thing this place needed was some Rupert thinking he was doing them all a favour by gracing them with his presence.

"Captain James." He didn't offer to shake her hand; she was rude and quite frankly annoying. "And you?"

"Molly Dawes." She replied curtly. "And what are you doing here?"

"I don't really see how that's anything to do with you." He shot back.

The woman to his right stepped forward so she was standing next to him, glancing back and forth between the two of them. "I'm Lance Coporal Georgie Lane." She smiled, holding her hand out. "Is this your clinic?"

She reached out and shook the woman's hand, still watching the Captain out of the corner of her eye. "Wouldn't quite say it's my clinic, I've been working with Kenyan Crisis Care out here for a few years now."

"That's incredible." Georgie smiled warmly.

"Not being funny or anything, but what exactly are you lot doing here? This a refugee camp not a bleedin' war zone."

"Again, that's not really any of your business." Captain James interjected.

Georgie shot him a look which even Molly could tell meant stop being such an arsehole. "It's a humanitarian mission." She smiled apologetically at Molly. She wasn't sure what had come over Charles but he'd clearly decided he didn't like this woman for some unknown reason. "We're just here to help, that's all."

"Well, I ain't being rude of nothing but I'm not sure that you lot being here is going to be all that helpful. I've been here three years now, and every time some army or another has turned up they've done more harm than good by trying to help." She looked behind Georgie and her Captain at the group of young lads standing behind them. "What we need are supplies and places for these people to live, not more soldiers."

"Well, luckily for us this isn't a decision you get to make." Captain James replied. "The Kenyan Government have asked us to assist, so we will carry out the job we've been given."

"Apparently there's been problems with Al Shaabab in the area?" Georgie asked, quickly changing the subject.

Molly nodded, glaring at Captain James before turning her attention back to Georgie. "We've had a few problem's recently." She gestured to the clinic behind her. "They smashed all the windows, stole most of our supplies. We don't have enough left to even begin to treat all the people who need our help." She stopped, lost in her own thoughts for a moment.

"Well, that's why we're here." Georgie smiled.

"I don't see how you being here is going to do anything other than piss them off." She argued back. "It's difficult enough as it is without you causing any more problems. So thanks and all that, but we're fine."

"We've got a job to do Molly, the same as you have." Georgie smiled. Thankfully Charles had decided to keep his mouth shut this time. It was going to be a long three months if they managed to fall out with the aid workers all ready. "What kind of supplies do you need?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Literally everything." Molly told her, half smiling at some kind of private joke."I thought the NHS were short staffed and in trouble but at least they've actually got bandages and supplies."

"Bit of a change of scene from the NHS to a Kenyan refugee camp?" Georgie raised an eyebrow.

Molly laughed quietly. "That's what everyone says. There's not that much difference between working in a hospital and being out here, except that here I'm all there is. I've learned a lot more in the three years I've been out here than the whole time I was at medical school!"

"You're a doctor?" Captain James seemed to have suddenly found the power of speech again. Georgie said a silent prayer that he wasn't about to put his foot in it again.

"You could at least try to hide that look of horror on your face." She smirked at Captain James and Georgie couldn't help but laugh. "I know what you're thinking, but it turns out they do actually let gobby cockneys in to university too. They let me have a medical degree and everything."

Charles flushed red. "I didn't say that." He said defensively.

"No, you didn't." Molly answered, raising an eyebrow at him. "But I can see you thinking it. And no, I didn't get fired either, I just thought I could do more good out here."

She could hear two section coughing to try and muffle their laugher, they weren't used to seeing their Captain so flustered. "Can I have a look inside the clinic?" Georgie asked. "I'd love to see how you operate."

"Sure." Molly shrugged. "But like I said there's been some trouble recently, things are a bit of a mess."

"Can I just have a couple of minutes Boss?" Georgie asked, looking at Charles. "It'd be good to see how things work out here, might be useful for us."

He nodded. "Five minutes Lane."

"Lead the way then." She smiled at Molly.

"So, you're a medic?" Molly asked as she walked back through the door to the clinic with Georgie close behind.

"Yeah, I'm the Muppet responsible for making sure that lot get back home in one piece." She joked.

Molly laughed. "Think your job might be harder than mine."

Georgie laughed, looking around inside the clinic. It was small, there were a few beds pushed up against each wall, and sheets hanging over the remainders of the smashed windows. As her eye wandered she realised there were a few stray bullet holes in the walls.

"They ransacked it one night, Nafula and I had gone back to the town where we're staying. We came back the next morning and they'd smashed all the windows, stolen all the medicines and everything they decided wasn't worth stealing they burned. It's taken us months to get even the most basic supplies back, but we do what we can with what we've got."

"I thought the supplies we're limited when I was in Afghanistan, but it's well equipped out there compared to this." The truth was she'd probably got more supplies in her Bergen just to take care of two section than the clinic had to care for thousands of refugees.

"I've been sleeping her to make sure they don't come back for the things that we have still got." Molly admitted.

"Surely that's not safe?" Georgie asked. "What are you going to do if they do come back?"

"I dunno, I'm hoping the fact I'm here will be enough to put them off. Besides, there's always someone needing looking after at all times of day and night around here. At least I'm here if they need me." Molly shrugged. "If they come back then I'll think of something, improvise. So how long do you think you guys will be out here?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Three months apparently, and it had better be just that or I won't make it back in time for my own wedding." Georgie joked. "Boss promised me I'd be back in time and he's usually pretty good."

Molly raised an eyebrow. "I don't really know him, but-"

"He seems like a bit of an ass?" Georgie finished the sentence for her.

"Well… Yeah." Molly laughed.

"Don't let him put you off, he's one of the good guys. There isn't anyone else I'd rather had by back than him." Georgie smiled. "I don't really know what his issue is at the moment, between you and me I think he's had a bit of a row with Mrs James about coming back out here, so I wouldn't take it personally."

"I don't really care what he thinks of me." Molly shrugged. "In three months time you lot will have all pissed off back home and I'll be left in peace to do my job."

"Do you miss home much?" Georgie asked.

"This is my home." She smiled. "I left London and everything there behind a long time ago."

"Come on Lane, we've not got all day!" Captain James shouted from the doorway.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering if there was some kind of hidden meaning behind what Molly had just said, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. "I'd better get going before he decides to take his terrible mood out on me." Georgie joked. "See you later."

"See you around." Molly called as the medic disappeared out of the door to join the rest of her section. She watched out of the window as they all regrouped by the truck for a moment, putting on helmets and body armour before walking off further in to the camp. She felt a little uneasy as she watched them all making their way in to the camp, this was going to cause trouble, that was for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a sweltering thirty five degrees. The clinic was overrun with people who needed help, and they didn't have the space or supplies to treat all of them. Nafula had been working non stop all morning, as had Molly and neither of them felt as though they were getting anywhere. For every person that they had treated, it seemed like another three had joined the queue outside the door waiting to come in. At one point a fight had broken out between the people in the queue after someone had pushed in.

It was the busiest they'd been in the years that she'd been there, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was something to do with the fact the soldiers were now patrolling the camp and causing a feeling of unrest. There were definitely more injuries that looked like they'd been caused in a fight than usual.

"Okay, you're good to go." She smiled at the young girl in front of her, pulling off her gloves and tossing them in to a bin. "Come back in a couple of days so I can take another look okay?" She gestured to the dressing she'd just stuck on the girls forehead.

She nodded in response, flashing a nervous smile before, vacating her seat and heading for the door. By the time Molly turned around there was already someone else in the seat.

"Knock Knock." She spun around to find Captain James and Georgie standing in the entrance to the clinic, the residents of the refugee camp who were queued up behind them watching them warily.

"Can I help you?" She asked, the exasperation clear in her voice. She wiped her hair back off her forehead, waiting for them to explain themselves. They'd not really had much to do with her during their patrols, and she was more than happy for it to stay that way.

"We just wanted to check if everything was alright?" Georgie asked. "We noticed you were quite busy."

"Well, no it's not alright really is it? I've been working flat out all day and the queue outside is getting longer not shorter. People in the queue are fighting and causing me even more work and I'm rapidly running out of supplies and I'm not going to get any more for at least another week." She snapped back at them. "You two standing there staring at us ain't going to help either is it." She was aware she was taking out her frustrations on them, but she couldn't stop herself.

"What do you need us to do?" Georgie asked, stepping forward and putting her bag down on the floor.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea Lane." Her Captain frowned. "It's not really what we're here for."

"You said it was a humanitarian mission I believe boss?" She raised an eyebrow at him. She wouldn't have dared to speak to him like that a few years ago, but they'd got pretty friendly when she'd been with Elvis and she thought she'd probably get away with it.

He glared at Georgie for a second before his face softened. "Do what you can to help Lane, but don't use all of your supplies for god's sake. You've got to get through the rest of the tour on them."

"Yes boss." She was already pulling on a pair of gloves as he finished speaking.

"I'll get the boys to keep an eye on the queue, make sure you don't have any more trouble." He added, pausing in the doorway.

"Thank you." Molly smiled. "I didn't mean to take it out on you guys, it's just been one of those days."

He didn't say anything, just nodding before he turned and walked out of the door. She could just about hear him barking orders at the other soldiers as she turned her attention to the patient in front of her.

She'd all but forgotten they were there when the patient she'd been treating had kicked off at her because she was unable to give him any of the pain killers she'd given him the previous week. She'd been trying to explain to him that they'd run out and she wouldn't be getting any more supplies for at least another week when he'd grabbed hold of the collar of her shirt, pushing her up against the wall as he shouted at her. She couldn't quite get what he was saying, her language skills were limited, but after a few years of Nafula teaching her the language she got the gist of it.

"Sir, please." She tried to keep herself calm enough to reason with him. "I know you're in pain and if I had the pain killers I would give them to you, but I don't have any left."

"Let go. Now." The authoritative voice came from beside her, and for the first time since they'd arrived she was actually pleased to see Captain James standing there.

The man looked at him for a moment, as though he was sizing him up, then slowly released the collar of her shirt and turned to walk out of the clinic.

"Are you okay?" Captain James asked, frowning at her as she straightened the collar on her shirt.

She nodded. "We've had worse, don't worry about it. I know how to look after myself."

She walked over to the exit of the clinic, stepping outside in to the sunlight for a few minutes fresh air while she got herself back together. He followed her, wanting to know what she meant.

His frown deepened. "Well now I am worried. This isn't the first time this has happened?"

She shook her head. "They're desperate. They know that the people at the front of the queue are more likely to get the medicines than them, we've almost always run out a day or two after we get a delivery- even though Nafula and I always try to ration them- they fight with each other to try and get in here first, and then sometimes they'll try and frighten us in to giving them the medicines even though they don't really need it."

"Surely it's not safe, just the two of you here like this? What would've happened if we hadn't been here to step in?" He asked. It wasn't even a thought that had crossed his mind up until this point.

She shrugged again. "We've managed this far, we'll carry on with it once you've all gone back to England. It's just been the two of us for years now- believe me, they're not exactly overrun with volunteers to come out here and put themselves in danger in a refugee camp for next to no pay- I doubt there's going to be anyone else coming out to join us any time soon."

"What made you want to come out here?" He asked curiously.

"I told you the other day, I wanted to feel like I'd actually achieved something, made a difference." She smiled.

"But surely you could've done that working in a hospital in England? Or joined the army even?Why come out here and do charity work?" He pushed.

She snorted at the suggestion. "Can you imagine me in the army? Taking orders off someone? Have you met me?" She laughed. "You can't judge me for it, you're putting yourself out there in the line of fire too. This is what I enjoy, it's not easy but I do feel like I'm making a difference to these people. I would imagine you'd say something similar if I asked you why you're here."

"It's hardly the same thing." He replied. "I've got the army watching my back, you're out here on your own. What if something happens to you? Or if there's more problems with Al Shabab? Who's looking out for you?"

"I've got Nafula." She shrugged. "We watch each others backs."

"She might be watching your back, but what's she really going to do if a group of terrorists decide that a young English doctor is the perfect hostage for them to use to bargain with the government? Then what happens?" He asked. He was getting angry now, she could tell by the way he'd folded his arms over his chest and was glaring at her.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly out here, you might give them ideas." She joked, causing him to spin around and look at who was around and might've heard them. "I was joking, calm down." She laughed.

"How can you joke about this?" He asked incredulously.

"Because, if I don't joke about it then I might actually start to be a bit scared. And if that happens then I might as well go back to England now because I'm not going to be much use to these people if I spend the whole time looking over my shoulder because you've convinced me I'm about to get taken hostage any second." She told him.

"There's no reasoning with you, is there?" He sighed. It wasn't his responsibility to keep her safe, she wasn't a part of his team and she was out there of her own free will because she wanted to help, but he felt strangely responsible.

"Not according to my mother anyway." She laughed. "This is what I do, and I enjoy it. I'm well aware of the risks believe me." She wasn't about to tell him about the nights she'd spent sleeping in the clinic trying to protect their supplies and equipment, terrified of what might happen.

"Have you looked at joining the army as doctor?" He asked. "You could do more or less the same work but you've got a group of soldiers looking out for you."

"And let some Rupert like you order me around and tell me who I am and aren't allowed to treat?" She smiled. "I'd rather take my chances with Al Shabab, thanks mate." She laughed, turning and walking back in to the clinic.

"Don't tell me you two are making friends after all that." Georgie commented, raising an eyebrow. "I quite enjoyed watching you put him in his place, so did the rest of the lads."

Molly laughed. "Don't think there's much chance of that ever happening, don't you worry. Think he's just worried I'm going to create more work for you all."

"What do you mean?" Georgie frowned.

"I wouldn't worry about it." She smiled in response. "I think he's been in the army too long, looking for problems when there aren't any. I've been out here years and there's never been any trouble, I don't think it's going to start now."

She reached in to the box and pulled on another pair of gloves, waving the next patient in to the room. "Besides, I'm far too busy to have time to be getting in to trouble." She joked, pushing what he'd said out of her mind and focusing on the patient sitting in front of her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you for everything today." Molly smiled at the group of soldiers as they piled their kit back in to the truck. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"You can buy us all a drink when we get back to England, thank us all in person." Mansfield said suggestively, winking at Molly.

"Don't hold your breath mate." Molly retorted.

"I think what Mansfield was trying to say there is it's been our pleasure to help you and Nafula today." Captain James smiled. "Right, let's get you cockwombles back for some food before Brains starts complaining again! Last one in the truck is on latrine clean for the rest of the week!"

They descended in to chaos, leaving Molly stood laughing as she watched them in scramble in trying not to be the last one. The engine started as they climbed in, fingers being the last one to make it on board- the others cheering as he finally made it- and the boys waved to her as they disappeared off in to the distance.

She stood outside the clinic for a moment, watching as the truck disappeared off over the horizon. Somewhere during the course of the day from hell, she'd made friends with them- something she'd sworn she wouldn't do- and it had made he realise that she'd missed home. She missed her family and her friends, she had Nafula but that wasn't the same for some reason. There was no time to dwell on it though, she'd still got to tidy up after the days work.

She wandered back inside where Nafula was picking up the rubbish they'd discarded during the day and putting it in to bags. She looked as exhausted as Molly felt. She reached out and took the bag from her.

"Go home Nafula, you look exhausted." She smiled at the young girl.

"So do you." Nafula pointed out. "I can stay, it's okay."

"No really, it's okay. You go. Can't have both of us half asleep tomorrow can we." She joked. "I'll see you first thing tomorrow. Well done today."

Nafula hesitated for a second, then picked up her bag. "See you tomorrow, thanks Molly." She smiled, then disappeared out of the door leaving Molly alone in the clinic to clear up the mess.

It took her the best part of an hour to clear up the mess that had been made during the day. She reorganised the supplies that they had left and prepared for the next day, before finally sitting down at the small desk in the corner just as the sun began to set. She flipped on the small lamp on the desk and stared out of the window for a moment before picking up a pen and a sheet of paper.

She'd promised herself that she'd write a letter back home, something she hadn't done at all since she'd left home for uni. She hadn't spoken to her parents for years, she'd got no idea where they thought she was or if they even wanted to know.

She'd just started writing when there was a knock at the door. She dropped the pen down on top of the letter and hauled herself to her feet, her tired and aching limbs protesting as she moved. "Come in." She called, squinting in the dim light to see who it was. "Is everything okay?"

Her stomach dropped as four men walked in, all of them with scarves pulled up over their faces so nothing was visible apart from their eyes. Why had she sent Nafula home?

There was a quick exchange between two of them that she didn't quite catch, only a few words- hostage and behead being a couple of them- then before she had time to react they surged forward and grabbed hold of her. Before she could scream a hand clamped over her mouth.

"Please, just take whatever you want." She choked out, gasping for air. Her heart was racing as she tried to think of a way out of this.

"Oh don't worry, we will." The soft English voice in her ear took her by surprise. She could tell by the sound of his voice he was smiling and it made her skin crawl. "You see, we've been watching you over the last few weeks, and I think you'll be perfect to help us further our cause." He ran a finger up the side of her face and her stomach flipped. She wanted to wrench herself free from them, but she knew she had no chance of getting away.

She briefly wondered if this was some kind of set up from Captain James to teach her a lesson about staying there on her own, the punch that came from nowhere and connected with her stomach quickly proved that this was serious. Her eyes wandered to the letter she'd been writing to her Mum, and she wondered for a moment if she'd still be alive by the time she got to read it.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, struggling to get free from the vice like grip one of them had around her neck.

He laughed quietly. "You'll find out soon, don't you worry." He nodded at one of the men behind her, and suddenly everything was plunged in to darkness as they pulled a bag over her head, her hands bound behind her and she was hauled out of the clinic. She was vaguely aware of the sound of an engine starting as she was thrown in to what she assumed was the back of a truck.

Her stomach twisted with the realisation that this wasn't a nightmare, it was actually happening. No one would know she was missing for hours, and by that point it would be too late. She twisted, trying to free her hands to she could pull the bag that was covering her face off. If she could see where they were taking her then she at least had a chance of making it back.

She was stopped in her tracks by another blow to her ribs. She hissed in pain and heard him laugh quietly.

"Now, let me tell you. If you're a good girl and behave yourself this is going to be so much easier for all of us. It'd be a terrible shame if something were to happen to you before you get your big moment, wouldn't it?" He whispered, his breath hit against her neck. "Pretty little thing like you, out in a refugee camp all on your own. You really should be more careful."

"What are you going to do with me?" She asked, her voice hoarse. She felt as though she might be sick, the panic had well and truly set in. She already had a good idea what was going to happen, but she needed to ask.

"Oh, you're going to get your moment in the spot light." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "All of your friends and family back home will see you on the tv while you beg me not to kill you. Then we'll see what your government is willing to do to spare your life."

"What do you want?" She asked, trying to keep herself calm. She wanted to find out enough that if by some miracle she came out of this alive she'd be able to help find these men.

"I'm doing Allah's work." He said simply. "The British need to understand this, they can't keep interfering."

"They're not going to take their troops out of the country just to save me." She whispered.

"Shhh." He answered, and she could hear the smile in his voice again. "I wouldn't say things like that if I were you. I mean, what use is there in me keeping you alive if they won't give us what we want."

She took a deep breath, trying to remind herself to keep calm. Why hadn't she taken some kind of self defence class or something while she was at university? Mind you, that probably wouldn't have done her much good in this circumstances. Captain James had been right, she was an easy target- and now she was going to lay the price for believing she was safe.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi everyone, sorry about the delay with getting this update. I've written and rewritten this so many times because I wasn't happy with it. I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but if I don't post it I'll spend another week fiddling around with it and I'll never get anywhere. Hopefully it's not too awful for you all xx_

Mansfield had just finished telling them some ridiculous story about getting stuck in a bin on a night out he'd been on at home just before they'd been deployed when the truck rolled to a stop just inside the refugee camp. They all climbed out, one at a time, the sun already blazing despite the fact it was still early in the morning. The lads were complaining about the heat already and it was only going to get hotter as the day went on.

"Oh stop complaining the lot of you." Captain James sighed, turning round and shooting them a glare that quickly silenced them. He'd had enough already and they'd still got the whole day left to go. He'd phoned Rebecca the night before and had an almighty row with her, and he knew that was more the cause of his irritability than Two Section, but still he couldn't help himself. It was easier to take his frustrations out on them than to try and talk to his wife.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" They all turned to look at Nafula who was running towards them.

"What's wrong?" Georgie asked, stepping forward. Nafula looked panicked.

"It's Molly!" She explained quickly, already walking back in the direction of the entrance to the clinic. She waved her hand, beckoning them to follow her.

"What do you mean? Has something happened?" Captain James asked, following after Georgie who had already started to walk towards the clinic.

They came to a stop just inside the clinic. It was a mess inside, but that was hardly unusual. Nothing seemed out of place particularly, the beds were shoved up against the walls untidily, there were a few things strewn across the floor, but the place was never exactly tidy.

"She hasn't turned up this morning." Nafula explained, she looked worried.

"Maybe she's not well, or she just wanted a day off?" Captain James suggested.

Nafula shook her head. "She wouldn't do that."

"She's under a lot of pressure, you can't say for sure that she isn't just having a day off." He pointed out.

Georgie shot him a look. "Are you honestly saying that you think she's the sort of person to just abandon everyone here for the day so she can lay around in her pyjamas and watch tv?" She frowned, not quite believing what he'd just said.

"I've worked with Molly for years, she's never taken a day off not even once." Nafula pointed out. "Even when she was ill she still came in, said she didn't want to leave people here without help just because she wasn't feeling well."

"People change." He argued. "Maybe she's just had enough. We can't automatically assume she's been kidnapped just because she's a couple of hours late. Maybe she's just over slept?"

Nafula shook her head. "Look." She pointed at a piece of paper on the small desk in the corner. "You think she stopped writing a letter to her family halfway through a word and just got up and walked out of here because she'd had enough? If she was going to be late she would've called me!"

"It's possible." He frowned.

Georgie walked over to the desk, picking up the half written letter to look at it. Nafula was right, Molly had stopped halfway through a word, there was a blotch of ink on the paper where she'd obviously paused writing for some reason. It just didn't make sense. She agreed with Nafula, the Molly Dawes she'd got to know wasn't the kind of person to just take a day off because she felt like it.

"Something's wrong boss." She said, turning round and holding the letter out to her Captain. "This doesn't feel right."

He took it from her, the familiar frown appearing on his brow as he read it. "This doesn't prove anything." He said, folding the note and tucking it into his pocket. "I don't know what you want us to do? There's every chance she'll turn up." He shrugged, looking at Nafula.

"I don't know! This is Al Shaabab, I know it is!"Nafula answered, looking pleadingly at Georgie.

"You don't know that for certain." He argued. Georgie frowned, she wasn't sure why he was so determined to believe that Molly had just decided she didn't want to be there anymore.

"They've gone it before! The medic that was here before Molly, they took her! No one would believe me then either, no one wanted to look for her, then she turned up dead a month later!" Nafula cried.

"What? And you're only mentioning this now? Why did no one think to tell us?! Unbelievable!" He shook his head angrily. "I'll go and make a couple of calls and see if there's anything been picked up from Al Shaabab that suggests that they might have had something to do with it, just to play it safe. But you might have to prepare yourself for the fact she's just had enough and decided she doesn't want this anymore." He turned and walked out of the clinic, leaving Georgie standing with Nafula.

"Molly wouldn't do this, she'd never just abandon the people here. They've taken her, I know they have." Nafula shook her head, looking pleadingly at Georgie.

"I know." Georgie agreed softly. "We'll see if anyone's picked anything up that suggests something has happened to her and then take it from there." She tried to sound reassuring, but her mind was spinning. If Molly had been taken by Al Shaabab then there was a very high chance that they were going to use her life to try and bargain with the government. She knew from experience that even if the government did give them what they wanted, which was unlikely to say the least, it didn't guarantee that they'd let Molly go.

She smiled at Nafula in what she hoped was a reassuring way, before turning and walking out of the clinic to where Captain James was stood by the truck, talking into his radio in hushed tones.

"I see." He said into the radio, glancing up as she walked towards him. "Am I right in thinking there's plans being drawn up?... Okay, we'll head back to base and wait for instructions. Thank you Sir."

"They've got her, haven't they?" Georgie asked, she already knew the answer from the look on his face. He was back to the stern Captain James that terrified two section.

"They posted a video online an hour ago, supposedly a young British aid worker they'd taken from one of the refugee camps." He confirmed, his expression grim. He was feeling more than a little guilty for not believing Nafula to begin with.

"It's got to be her." Georgie whispered. Her stomach was churning.

"It sounds like it, yes." He agreed. "We're heading back to base now, Major Beck is going to send over a copy of the video so that we can confirm that it is Molly."

"And then what?" Georgie asked. She wanted him to tell here that there was some kind of concrete plan in place to find her and bring her home safely, although she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none.

"They're sending special forces out, they don't know where she's being held or if she's even still alive." He said slowly. "They'll do what they can to locate exactly where she's being held, then special forces will go in and we will support where necessary."

Georgie nodded. "She shouldn't have been here on her own." She sighed.

"No." He agreed. "But I get the feeling she wouldn't have listened to either of us anyway. It's not our place to interfere in things like this anyway, it is what it is. Let's just focus on our jobs Lane. Okay?"

Georgie half smiled and nodded in agreement, thinking of the way Molly and shot down every suggestion her Captain had made, making him flush an interesting shade of red as she'd called him out in front of the section.

"Right you lot!" He shouted, turning to where Two section had gathered, awaiting their instructions amongst the confusion. "Change of plans, we're heading back to base. I'll brief you all when we get back. Everyone in, come on, get a move on." He ordered.

There were a few groans from the lads about spending a day holed up in their base, then some excited chatter as they realised they might get to finish their game of Monopoly from the night before. It made Georgie feel a bit nauseous, they were sitting there laughing about a bloody board game and Molly was out there somewhere with God knows who, dependent on them to find her. They soon shut up again after their Captain reminded them that they were there to work not to play board games all day.

The journey back to base seemed to take an eternity, but as soon as they made it back Captain James disappeared into the Ops tent without a word to any of them. She wanted nothing more than to follow him in there and interrogate him to get every last detail about what was going on- but she had to remind herself that while he might be her friend back home, he was her boss on this tour and she couldn't do that. So instead she found herself pacing nervously back and forth, waiting for some kind of news as the boys finished their monopoly game.

"Yes." He agreed, grimacing slightly. "That's definitely her Sir. Her name is Molly Dawes, she's been working for Kenyan Crisis Care in the medical clinic at the refugee camp." He watched the video on the screen in horror, but yet unable to tear his eyes away. He watched as two men with their faces covered dragged her to her feet in front of the camera, one of them holding a large knife up to her neck. For a horrifying moment he thought they were going to kill her, before they released their grasp on her and she fell to the floor heavily.

"Do you have any details for her family?" Major Beck asked. "This video is everywhere, and there's very little we can do about it. It would be good if we could get to her family before they find out from the news."

"I have actually." He remembered, reaching in to his pocket and pulling out the now slightly crumpled letter that she had been writing. "I'll send the details over to you, although I do remember her saying that her parents didn't know she was out here."

"Okay, leave it with me." Major Beck said. "Special forces are en route now, they should be with you in a couple of hours. We've narrowed it down to a couple of potential locations where she could be being held. The special forces guys will brief you on the exact plans when they get there."

"Thank you sir." Charles nodded. "I'll let you know if there's any further updates."

"Thank you." The line disconnected and he was gone, leaving Charles sitting in the tent on his own staring at the image on the screen of a battered and bruised Molly looking pleadingly into the camera, hoping that someone was coming to save her.

The eight hour wait for special forces to arrive was excruciating. There was nothing anyone could do- he couldn't give them any kind of briefing on what was going to happen, because he needed special forces to fill him in on the details of what they'd got planned and how two section would be involved.

They were all just sitting there, waiting. He stood outside his tent, watching from a distance. The boys were on their sixth game of monopoly by that point and Georgie had worn the ground away where she'd been pacing up and down before she'd finally given up and sat down, she was now refereeing some kind of argument over the rules of Monopoly.

The sound of the helicopter approaching stopped everyone in their tracks. It somehow managed to cause a feeling of relief and a surge of adrenaline simultaneously. He set off in the direction of the gate to greet the special forces.

As he shielded his eyes from the dust and the four men ran in through the gates it wasn't immediately obvious who it it was. It was only when the helicopter took off again, the dust began to settle and they pulled off the scarves covering their faces that he clocked Elvis.

"No fucking way." He shook his head. Someone was playing some kind of cruel joke on him.

"Nice to see you too Mate!" Elvis joked.

Charles shook his head. "You can't be here. I'm not signing off on this."

Elvis pretended to look hurt. "Why is that then Charlie?"

"I can't have you and Georgie working together on this. I need you to concentrate and do your fucking job for once, there's someone life at stake here." He ran his hands through his hair. This was supposed to be a nice easy three month humanitarian tour. Rebecca had argued with him saying nothing ever went as smoothly as they said it was going to, apparently she'd known something he hadn't because this was all turning out to be a total nightmare. "Just you wait until I speak to Major Beck, there's no way he's going to allow this!"

"You go ahead and do that." Elvis smirked. "But it was him that decided to send us out here- you need the best Charlie, and here we are."

They'd been so busy arguing that neither of them saw Georgie coming from the side of them. It wasn't until Elvis felt the sting of her hand connecting with his face that he realised it was her.

"Unlike you to actually show up for something you're supposed to." She spat at him, turning and storming off.

Charles suppressed his laughter, unlike the special forces guys who were openly laughing at what had just happened.

"If you're going to be a part of this, then you two need to find a way to work together." Charles sighed, holding his hands up in defeat. "I'm not helping you get out of this one mate. Go and talk to her if you want, then meet me in the ops tent in ten minutes so we can go over what the plan is." He turned and walked away, smirking a little as he heard the guys taking the piss out of Elvis, he did deserve it after all.


	5. Chapter 5

"Georgie wait!" Elvis called, running after her as she stormed off across the base in the direction of the canteen area. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm, causing her to spin round to glare at him.

"Get your hands off me!" She snapped, wrenching her arm away from him. He held up his hands in surrender "What the hell are you doing here Elvis?" She folded her arms across her chest, giving him an icy glare.

"I got my orders from Beck and got shoved on a plane, didn't even cross my mind until I saw Charles that you might be out here. I don't go around keeping tabs on everything you do for god's sake." He shot back at her.

"No, you made it perfectly clear that you don't care about me anymore the day you left me standing at the altar." She spat, clenching her fists. She was so angry at him, even after all this time. She'd thought she was over it and that she'd dealt with it, but seeing him standing there in front of her had just brought everything back.

"I never said that!" He protested. "You know that's not true, if you'd just hear me out-"

She cut him off. "Save your breath Elvis. There's no way Charles is going to sign off on this, you'll be back in that helicopter and on your way out of here in a couple of hours, and until then I want you to stay well away from me. Got it?"

"He's already signed off on it." There was a smirk on his face as he said it that made her want to slap him again. "Special forces are in charge of the operation to get the hostage back, orders from Major Beck."

"Molly." Georgie added abruptly. "Her names Molly."

He frowned a little. "You know her?"

"Sort of." She sighed, relaxing a little. "We've worked together at the clinic in the camp a few times, got chatting. She's a really nice girl. Be honest with me Elvis, what do you think the chances are of getting her back alive?"

She noticed the way his jaw tightened slightly at the question. Even after all this time she could still read him like a book. He moved to sit on one of the small tables in the canteen, running his hand through his hair as he looked up at her.

"I'll be honest with you here, don't get your hopes up." He said slowly. He looked stressed, which was something she'd only seen a handful of times. "There's a few possible locations we've been given that they think she could be being held at. If we hit the wrong one and they realise that we're on to them then there's no telling what they might do."

"What's the plan then?" She asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"I'm going to go and talk to Charles about that now." He said, sliding down off the table. "He sent me over here to try and make peace with you, just in case you have the urge to hit me again so you don't decide to do it in the middle of the rescue mission." He joked.

"Don't tempt me." She muttered.

"So we're good?" He asked hopefully.

"I can work with you on this, for Molly's sake if nothing else, but you're not forgiven Elvis and don't go thinking that we're going to be friends. If I never see you again after this is over it'll be too soon." She didn't return his smile.

"Ouch." He joked. "Message received, loud and clear. I'll be out of your hair again in no time." He called back over his shoulder as he started walking in the direction of the ops tent.

"Knock Knock." He called as he ducked through the doors of the tent. Spanner, Spunky and Jackson were already sitting talking to Captain James.

"She didn't kill you then?" Spanner joked as he sat down in the middle of them. "She's got a good arm on her I'll give that."

"Very funny." Elvis snapped. "Have you done any work while I've been gone or were you just gossiping?"

"We were putting bets on how long it would take for her to slap you again actually." Charles commented, barely able to keep the smirk off his face.

"Yeah yeah, very funny." Elvis rolled his eyes. "Do you think maybe we should get on with what we actually came here to do boys?" He could see them pulling faces at each other beside him but decided to ignore them.

"What's the plan then?" Charles asked, leaning forward to look at the map that Elvis was spreading out on the table in front of them. He was almost afraid to ask what Elvis had got planned, he'd heard one too many stories about what he'd got up to since he'd been with special forces.

"So, they've been monitoring the activity in the area for a while now. They think that she's being held in one of these three compounds." He pointed at the map. "We're going to head out in an hour or so to this one which is closest and see if we can get a look inside to see what we might be dealing with."

"Then what?" Charles asked.

"We see if it looks like that's where she is. If she is then we'll wait until it's dark, element of surprise an' all that, take you and two section with us to support if necessary and go and get her. If we can, we want to get in and get her without them noticing us. If we storm the place guns blazing then there's every chance they'll kill her straight away, which would completely defeat the object. We're aiming to have her out of there by this time tomorrow." Elvis explained.

"That seems a bit ambitious." Charles frowned. "I'm not being funny Elvis but if you screw this up…"

"Beck didn't tell you did he?" Elvis realised. "The reason they sent us out here in such a hurry is because at the end of the video they put on line they said they'd behead her live on the internet at 7pm tomorrow if all of their fighters aren't allowed to walk free. If we don't get her out of there by then we've blown it."

"Well… You'd better get a move on then. Do you need anything from us?" He asked.

Elvis shook his head. "We'll head out and take a look, keep your radio on and I'll let you know if we need support. Let's go boys." He nodded at Charles before heading out of the door with the boys close behind him to get ready.

"Elvis." Charles called, causing him to stop in the doorway and look back over his shoulder. "Be careful for god's sake. No heroics?"

"Yes Sir." He joked, giving him a mock salute before disappearing off.

* * *

Searing pain, that was the first thing she was aware of as she woke up in a heap on the floor. Every single inch of her body was screaming in pain, she wasn't even sure that she could move. It was daylight outside, so she'd obviously been out of it for a while. She brought her hand up to her forehead, wincing as she touched a cut on her forehead, her fingers stained red with blood as she looked at them.

She struggled to push herself upright, her head spinning as she leant back against the wall behind her. She squinted in the sunlight trying to get her bearings to see where she was. She couldn't see anything, other than the bars that they'd locked her behind and a concrete wall. She was trapped, and she'd got no idea if anyone was even coming to look for her.

She went to stand up, but the room spun around her and she quickly gave up on the idea. Slumping back against the wall again she bit back the tears. The panic had well and truly set in, if she couldn't find a way out they were going to kill her. Her mind wandered for a second to the letter she'd been writing to her mother, wondering if someone would pass it on if they never found her. She missed them, she hoped that they'd get to know that, even if she didn't make it out.

She looked up anxiously at the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She shuffled back further against the wall, even though there wasn't really any room for her to move further back.

"Oh good, you're awake." He smirked at her through the bars. She recognised his voice from when they'd grabbed her at the clinic and it made her stomach flip. "You see, your government isn't being very cooperative, so you might be getting your big moment in front of the camera sooner than we thought. It won't be much fun if you're unconscious will it?"

He turned and walked away, leaving her sat on the floor desperately trying to think of a way to escape before it was too late. She'd been so convinced that nothing would happen to her it had never even crossed her mind what would happen if she found herself in a situation like this. She could only hope that Nafula would alert someone to the fact she was missing, and that maybe someone was out there somewhere looking for her.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're really worried about this, aren't you?" She asked quietly, sitting down opposite him. She had been going to walk straight past, but when she'd spotted him sitting in the ops tent hunched over the maps her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She didn't think she'd ever seen Elvis look quite so serious or worried about anything.

"It's going to be more luck than judgement whether we can find her." He sighed. "I'm trying to decide which compound we go to first, and the truth is if she's not in that one we're probably going to be too late." He looked deflated, the laughing and joking replaced with anxiety and fear.

"Is there any indication where they might be holding her?" Georgie asked, trying to keep her voice level. She wanted to scream at him and tell him it wasn't enough, that Molly was relying on him, but she could see the pressure was getting to him already.

He shook his head. "It could be any of these three, they've been trying to narrow it down but no luck. They've had drones up trying to pick up activity but there's lots of movement in all three so that doesn't help. We just haven't got the time to go into all three, then there's the risk of tipping them off and them just killing her anyway." He ran his fingers through his hair, staring at the map on the table between them. "How am I supposed to just pick one to go for and hope she's there, her life's literally hanging on us finding her."

"It's your job Elvis, and you're bloody good at it too. That's why you're here." She reminded him with a small smile.

His expression softened for a moment, and he almost smiled. "Careful Lane, that almost sounded like a compliment." He joked.

She rolled her eyes, standing up from the table. "Keep dreaming mate." She muttered, heading for the exit. "You're far from forgiven, but if you pull this off I might stretch to buying you a beer."

"If you see my lot and Captain James can you send them this way?" He asked. "We need to get this show on the road."

She nodded in agreement, lingering for a second before disappearing out of the door and leaving him to it. It worried her, seeing Elvis like that. He was always so cocky and sure of himself, if he was worried then it meant things were looking really bad for Molly.

She walked the small distance across the base, knocking on the door of her Captains cabin.

"Come in!" He yelled as she peered round the door. "Everything okay Lane?" He asked.

"Yes boss." She nodded. "I was just talking to Elvis, he asked if I could send you his way."

He nodded, picking up the paper in front of him and his pen and standing.

"Thanks Lane." He nodded. "How're you finding working with Elvis? I know this is probably difficult for you."

"I'm not going to lie, it was a shock to see him standing there." She shrugged.

"I just need to know that you can both get past this, for now at least, and be professional. There's no room for personal feelings out here." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"All that matters is getting Molly back, what happened between me and Elvis is in the past- for now at least- we can deal with that when we get back."

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, pulling the door closed behind them as he stepped out of his cabin behind her. "Glad to hear it Lane." He smiled, then turned on his heel and disappeared off into the ops tent to find out what Elvis wanted.

The other special forces guys were sat around the table with Elvis, deep in conversation when Charles entered the tent.

"Where are we at then boys?" He asked, sitting down at the table between Spanner and Jackson. "I'm assuming you've come up with a plan?" He glanced down at the map spread out in front of them, Elvis' notes scribbled all over it and arrows that had been drawn in several different directions.

Elvis nodded, although his expression remained grim. "We've picked the best of a few bad options to be honest with you."

Charles grimaced a little. "What's the plan then?" He'd been hoping, all be it a little naively, that Elvis was going have a rock solid plan that would guarantee everyone got out safely. He bloody hated these things that seemed to rely more on luck that judgement.

"If we move quickly enough, and I mean now, then we can get to both of these compounds. The third one is too far away, and looking at the intelligence either of these looks for more likely. Plan is we go up there, breech the compound and see if she's in there. If she is, then we'll get back out, hit them with an air strike and then with support from two section we go and get her." Elvis answered simply.

"And if she isn't?" Charles asked, almost reluctant to hear the answer.

"Then we fit a tracker on to one of their vehicles and hope they lead us right to her before we run out of time." He replied, leaning back in his chair.

"I can't say I'm exactly thrilled about all this." He Charles sighed. "But we're running out of time and options, I just hate the idea of going in blind. We've got absolutely no idea what could be inside the walls of that compound."

Elvis exchanged a look with the rest of his team. "No." He admitted. "But this is what we do, we've got the element of surprise, they don't know we're coming for them, so sometime you just have to take that and go with it."

Charles paused for a second, then nodded. "When do you want to go?"

"Fifteen minutes?" Elvis suggested. "We haven't really got any time to waste."

Charles nodded, standing up from the table. "I'll go and put an end to their game of Monopoly and we'll be ready in ten." He turned and disappeared with a nod to the other men, striding out of the tent and straight in the direction of two section.

Lane lept to her feet as she saw him approaching, knowing what was coming. The rest of them were too busy arguing about Mansfield supposedly cheating.

"Listen up you lot." He barked, and he had their attention immediately as they all fell silent. "Full gear and by the gate ready to go in ten minutes,special forces will brief you alongside me on what's required. We're against the clock on this one, so no pissing around."

"Yes boss." Came the universal response, the monopoly board abandoned as they did jogged in the direction of their quarters to get ready to launch the rescue mission.


	7. Chapter 7

"Right, listen up." Elvis instructed, his voice hushed. He was crouched in the bushes with the Spanner, Spunky and Jackson, just outside the first compound the were planning to breech. "I want you up there, eyes on, but don't do anything unless I specifically tell you to. Understood?"

"Yes boss." They answered as one.

Elvis nodded, adjusting the collar on his shirt. "Right then boys." He said after a deep breath. "Let's do this."

The other three split themselves up, getting different vantage points so that they'd have eyes on Elvis the entire time he was inside the compound.

There was a horrifying moment just as he landed on the other side of the compound wall, much more heavily than he'd intended to, where he was sure someone was going to have heard him. It sent him scrambling for somewhere to hide himself, except there wasn't actually anywhere for him to go. Time seemed to stand still for him as he stood pressed up against the wall, and for the other guys hidden up in the trees, as they waited to see if someone was coming.

There was a collective sigh of relief, from Elvis in particular when no one seemed to have noticed.

"You were fucking lucky there boss." Spanner muttered into the radio, shaking his head ever so slightly, he continued to watch Elvis' movements through the sight of his gun, finger by the trigger and ready if needed.

Elvis didn't acknowledge him, moving slowly forward in the direction of a group of buildings in the right hand corner of the compound, that according to the information that they had been given, was where the group held their prisoners.

"Hold on a second." Captain James's voice came through their headsets. Two section were waiting out close by for confirmation that the medic they were looking for was actually in the compound. "Elvis, please tell me you're not inside that compound?" Spanner and Jackson exchanged a smile at the tone of the Captain's voice. This was going to turn in to the mother of all arguments once all this was over.

There was silence from Elvis as they watched him ducking down behind a pile of tyres, narrowly avoiding being spotted by two insurgents as they passed by just inches from him.

"Answer me Elvis." Captain James snapped again.

"Can you shut up Charles." Elvis hissed in to the radio, causing the rest of the special forces boys to smirk again. "I'm in the compound now trying to get eyes on her, and this isn't a great time to have you chewing my bleedin' ear off." He glanced around, checking it was clear before he straightened up and dashed the last few meters across the compound to the little buildings he could now see looked like holding cells.

Checking over his shoulder again, he pulled the door opening, cringing as the hinges squeaked. He paused, hand on his gun ready if someone had heard him. But thankfully, it didn't look like anyone was coming, maybe this was going to be his lucky day after all. Maybe Georgie might finally forgive him, well at least not hate him quite so much, if he managed to find this friend of hers.

As he stepped inside though, the dark and damp makeshift prison cells were empty. He squinted as his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. He shuddered as his fingers brushed the chains and handcuffs that were hooked up to the walls, his eyes were caught by a scrap of blue fabric and a few strands of dark hair that had been caught in the chains.

"She was here boys." He told them quietly, heading for the door again. He hadn't got time to stand around and contemplate what had happened. They were running out of time, and fast.

"I'm going to check a couple of the other buildings, just in case, and then try and get a tracker fitted to one of the trucks. Fingers crossed they'll take us to her."

"Copy that boss."

He carried on, creeping around the compound and peering through the windows and doors of the various other buildings, but the place seemed to be mostly deserted. There didn't seem to be anywhere else that they could have hidden her, apart from underground somewhere, and if that was the case then they were all well and truly screwed.

"Alright boys." He whispered, crouching down against a wall. He peered round the corner, eyeing up a little white truck that a few men were loading what looked like the last of the supplies from the compound into the back of. "I'm going to try and get a tracker on the back of that truck. Wherever they're taking all that stuff, is probably where they've got her."

"There's at least eight of them round there boss, if they spot you then you're gone." Jackson was the voice of reason coming through in his ear.

"Well." He paused for a moment, wondering if he was being a bit reckless. The thing was, it was one of Georgie's friends, and he knew it was going to destroy her if they couldn't save her, so he was willing to risk that little bit more. "We'd better make sure they don't get the chance, hadn't we boys. Eyes on, do not engage unless I tell you. We need to make sure at least one of them is still standing to drive the truck to wherever the hell they're holding her. Got it?"

"Yes Boss."

"Have you got a bloody death wish Elvis? For christ's sake this is ridiculous!" He could hear Charles getting more and more wound up, and ordinarily he would've found it hilarious, but he was too focused on the task ahead of them, on finding Georgie's friend.

He edged forward, seizing his opportunity as the men went into the building beside the truck to get more supplies to load the truck up with, he sprinted the final few steps and slid under the truck just as they re emerged from the doorway.

"Fucking hell." Spanner muttered. "They're everywhere boss, you're not going to get out from under there."

"Wait out." Came the short, hushed response. "Don't do anything, this truck is leaving this compound."

"Copy that." Spanner raised an eyebrow, they were seeing a whole new side to Elvis since they'd been on this mission, something that had to be to do with the fact Georgie was out there.

"Tracker is on." Elvis whispered, his fingers clutching his gun as he laid in the sand under the truck. He heard the engine start above him, and his grip tightened a little more. There was at least one guy standing at the back of the truck, he could see his feet. He was more worried about how many more there might be that he wasn't aware of.

The truck pulled away, and suddenly he was laying on his back in the blinding sunlight, staring face to face at one of the Al Shabab fighters. Before he could pull the trigger on his gun, the man crumpled to the floor next to him, landing next to the body of another man, a shot from one of the boys up in the trees taking them down. Elvis hauled himself up off the floor, glancing quickly over his shoulder at the little white truck that was now racing off into the distance, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

"Right, lets get moving boys." He smiled, dusting himself off and jogging back over to the wall he'd vaulted over what seemed like a lifetime ago to rejoin the others. "Good shots boys." He commented as he landed on the other side of the wall.

They all smiled and shrugged off the compliment, just relieved that he'd actually come back out of there in one piece. He might be annoying as hell, but they wouldn't be the same without him.

"Captain James?" As Elvis spoke into his radio he was already preparing himself for the bollocking that was going to ensue. He'd pissed Charles off enough times to know they didn't have the time to spare for one of his lectures right then.

"Yes Elvis?" Came the response. He was pissed, but he was saving the lecture for later by the sounds of it, which was a good job because they were already piling back into the truck, Spanner driving like a mad man as he raced through the countryside to the point where they'd arranged for the helicopter to pick them up.

"We've fitted a tracking device to a truck leaving this compound, which looks as though it is heading in the direction of the other compound we thought they might be holding her in. We need to move quickly on this one, have everyone ready to go as soon as we get there. We might've lost the element of surprise on this one. We've got a helicopter meeting us not far from the compound, once we're up I'll give you the go ahead and you storm the place. Just make sure no one shoots the hostage for christs sake or that'll defeat the object completely."

"Got it, just get a move on Elvis." Charles snapped back, before turning to two section who were all watching him with eyes like a hawk waiting to find out what was going to happen next.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh, fucking hell." Spanner muttered as they came to a stop a few yards from the helicopter. "This ain't good boss." His expression was grim.

"What is is?" Elvis asked, jumping out of the truck and glancing back over his shoulder at Spanner. He was studying the map linked tracker they'd fitted on to the truck at the other compound with a deep frown on his face.

"The tracker's been disabled." Spanner muttered, shaking his head. He jumped out of the truck and they moved quickly in the direction of the helicopter with the rest of them. "It could've fallen off I suppose, but i doubt it if you stuck it on properly, it's more likely that they've spotted it somehow. Which means…"

"They're onto us." Elvis finished the sentence for him, a wave of anxiety flooding through him. "Shit. We need to get a move on boys." They ran the last few meters to the helicopter, the sand and dust swirling up into their faces, Elvis trying to think of a plan to salvage the situation. They were only a few minutes out from the compound by helicopter, the original plan had been for an air strike first, then two section to move in and storm the compound while they airlifted the primary out, but this new development had screwed that all up.

"What's the plan boss?" Spanner asked, sliding into the helicopter next to him. The sand swirled around them as the helicopter rose upwards, the thought popped into his head about the amount of time it would take to get all the sand off him later.

"Launch Phase Two." Elvis instructed in to his radio, albeit reluctantly. He bloody hated having to deviate from the plan on things like this, it just increased the chances of something going wrong. They were screwed to begin with, even without this development, even though none of them had wanted to admit it. "I repeat launch phase two."

Captain James' voice came back through the radio, sounding a little confused. "What's going on Elvis? Confirm that we're not waiting out for phase one air strike?"

"There's a chance we might've been compromised, we think they're onto us so we need to quickly. There's no time to wait for an air strike. Confirm launch phase two now." Elvis shouted into the radio, trying to make sure Charles would hear him over the noise of the helicopter.

"Copy that." Charles responded, turning around and barking orders to two section who were waiting ready just outside the compound. "We're not waiting for the air strike, everyone in position now." He barked.

There were a couple of looks of confusion, but they all fell into line more or less immediately. The training kicked in, they were trained to follow orders, and that was what they would do.

The noise of the helicopter was just audible as it approached from behind them as they crept into the compound through the gates, weapons raised and ready. If what Elvis had said was right then there could be a group of armed terrorists waiting for them on the other side, he'd be lying if he said it didn't make him anxious just thinking about it.

They moved forwards quickly until they were all inside the compound, separating off to clear each building and make sure they hadn't missed anyone. It was deadly silent, only the sound of the sand crunching under their feet and the helicopter in the distance.

Then the first gunshot echoed around the compound and caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. It was followed by a couple more shots in quick succession.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked quietly into his radio, still moving forward to the building in front of him with his gun raised and ready.

"Yes boss." Came Fingers' reply. "One insurgent dead."

He carried on moving forwards, not allowing himself to bask in the sense of relief that so far everything was going to plan. He was pressed up against the wall of the compound, Brains just behind him as they eyed up the building they'd been heading for.

"There's at least three people in there boss." Brains told him, his voice hushed. "I can't see if she's in there though."

"Can you see if there's another exit?" He asked, looking around. As far as he could see there was only one way in, about 50m in front of them.

"I can't see anything boss."

"Okay." He nodded. "Ready?"

Brains nodded. Following his Captains lead as they crept across the compound, keeping low down in the hope of remaining undetected. The roar of the helicopter was becoming louder as they approached, mixed in with the occasional gunshot. Something felt off, there was no way the three people on the other side of the door weren't aware that something was going on, which increased the chances that they were armed and waiting for them.

They stopped, crouched either side of the door, he looked up at Brains, who nodded to say he was ready. He counted down from three on his fingers, silently.

Three.

Two.

One.

The burst in through the door, weapons raised and ready. Two of the men who had their guns raised and pointed towards them immediately dropped to the floor as Brains shot them.

Charles barely noticed. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the third man, who was standing in the middle of the room, behind Molly who was tied onto a chair, with a knife held to her neck.

Brains was looking at him for some kind of direction, not knowing if he should take the shot or not. If he did, there was a chance he was going to end up getting Molly from that angle. Charles tried to focus his mind, but all he could see was the glistening blade pressed against Molly's neck, and the look of resignation on her face. She hadn't even got the slightest glimmer of hope that they might manage her successfully.

"Put the knife down." He said slowly, even though he knew full well it wasn't going to work.

"that's not how this works." The man shook his head, his face was hidden by a scarf, but his eyes were still visible and he was beginning to look uncertain.

"Put the knife down, and then you don't have to get hurt." Charles tried again.

The man shook his head, tightening his grasp on Mollys hair, which caused her to hiss in pain. "She dies today." The man muttered, raising the knife towards her threat again.

It all happened in a flash, the building seemed to shake as the helicopter hovered above, and he almost didn't realise it was him who had pulled the trigger as the mans body fell to the ground and the knife hit the floor.

He had to pull himself together, quickly. He rushed forward to cut Molly free from her restraints, cringing a little as he realised she was covered in the splattered blood of her attacker.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked. It was a stupid question, there was no way she could be okay after everything that she'd been through. She'd probably never be okay again if he was honest.

"I… I um.. I don't know." She mumbled, words failing her.

"Do you think you can walk?" He asked, holding a hand out to her.

Wordlessly she took his hand, struggling not to cry out in pain as she forced herself on to her feet. Her body was battered and bruised and protesting every step of the way. Coupled with the fact the adrenaline coursing through her body made her legs feel like jelly she wasn't going to make it very far.

"That's it, we just need to get out of the door and they can winch you up." He tried to keep his voice calm. He motioned to Brains, who grabbed her other arm as they more or less carried her to the door.

The sound of gunfire around them drew his attention back to the fact they hadn't finished what they'd started, they still had the whole compound to clear.

By some miracle, Elvis was inches from the ground on the end of the winch about 50m in front of them as they came out of the door. They ran forward to close the distance, wanting to get her up to safety as quickly as possible so they could carry on clearing the compound.

The noise of the helicopter was deafening, and the sand flying around made it hard to see as they reached Elvis. Molly looked like she was trying to say something to him, but it was lost in the chaos around them. She had tears streaming down her face, leaving marks in the first and blood that covered her skin.

Anything he said to her, she wasn't going to hear, so instead he squeezed her hand, watching for a second as she was lifted up towards the helicopter with Elvis. Then in a matter of seconds the helicopter was racing off into the distance again, leaving two section to finish what they'd started.


	9. Chapter 9

As she was dangling from the end of the winch, clinging on to a man she'd never met as if her life depended on it, she remembered just how much she bloody hated flying. She didn't have the luxury of the sleeping pills she;d taken to get her through the flight out there when she'd left home. She briefly wondered if they'd put her back down if she asked- it might be preferable than being trapped in a helicopter.

She was still staring down at the ground, which was getting further and further away from them by the second, as she was pulled into the helicopter by someone in the doorway. They pushed her back into a seat, which thankfully wasn't anywhere near the door. Maybe if she just didn't look then she could pretend she was still safely on the ground.

The guy she'd been clinging on to on the winch pulled off his sunglasses, looking over at her and pulling off the scarf that covered his face, fumbling for his radio. "This is Zero Alpha. Extraction complete, primary recovered. I repeat primary recovered."

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" The other soldier sat opposite her asked.

She didn't even know the answer. Her mind was still reeling from everything that had just happened. She'd been convinced she was going to die, sat there tied to that chair with that knife held to her throat. They were going to kill her, there was never a shadow of doubt in her mind, and they were going to stream it to people all around the world. That would be how her Mum and Dad found out where she was, seeing her beheaded live on the internet.

She'd made peace with a lot of things while she'd been sat there, listening to them talking, making preparations for her death. She'd accepted that she'd never get to make things right with her Mum and Dad, that she'd never find out what the little bleeders had grown in to, that she'd never get to say sorry to her Nan. She'd never get to go back home, if she could even call London home any more, and show them all what she'd managed to become, with no help from any of them.

She wasn't ungrateful that she'd been rescued, she was the complete bloody opposite. It had just come as such a shock that she couldn't wrap her stupid bloody mind around it. She hadn't allowed herself to hope, not even the tiniest little sliver of hope while she'd been stuck in that dark and damp little cell. Then hearing that helicopter coming in, and the gunshots around them she'd started to believe, just slightly that maybe she might get out alive. Then she'd felt the cool metal of the knife pressed against her neck, and she'd started to doubt again.

"Can you hear me?" He was shining a light in her eyes. "Are you hurt anywhere? Just nod or shake your head if you can." His voice was low and reassuring, he was looking at her like she was a startled animal.

"I um... " She struggled to form some words, why was her brain not working? "I think I'm okay. Maybe a couple of broken ribs." She mumbled, her left hand moving over to her ribs, prodding them gently. She grimaced. If she was a betting woman, she'd put money on at least two of them being broken.

"Anything else?" He asked, making a note and then passing her a bottle of water. "Have you got any cuts or anything else?" He was eyeing up the blood she was covered in, trying to work out where it was coming from.

She drained the entire contents of the water bottle, she hadn't realised quite how thirsty she was. It was like heaven in a bottle. "It's not mine." She told him quietly, following his line of sight to the large bloodstain on her top. It made her feel a bit nauseous, and she wasn't really sure why. How many times had she ended up covered in a patient's blood? But somehow this seemed to be different.

"Sorry?" He frowned.

She felt her cheeks go pink, all four of the soldiers in the back of the helicopter were now looking at her. "The blood." She clarified. "It's not mine. They shot the guy who had me, it just sort of went everywhere."

"Okay." He said slowly, looking around for something he could give her to clean some of the blood off her face. He could see a few cuts and scrapes, but like she'd said the majority of the blood seemed to be from her attacker. He eventually found some gauze in a bag, pouring some water over it and handing it to her. They all watched her closely as she silently wiped the blood off her face, revealing an array of colourful bruising underneath. They were all waiting for her to fall apart, for the full realisation of what had happened to hit her, because surely it had to at some point.

"Thank you, by the way." She attempted to smile at them, at the end of the day she owed them her life. She'd literally been a few moments away from death, and she wasn't sure that was ever really going to sink in.

"Just doing our jobs." The man she'd been clinging on to smiled kindly. How many times had she said that sentence to a patient's family? It just didn't seem right in these circumstances, they'd literally put their lives on the line to save hers. "I'm Elvis by the way, this is Spanner, Spunky and Jackson." He pointed at each of them as they smiled at her.

"Thank you though, seriously." She said again, fiddling with the now blood soaked gauze. She didn't know what to say, how to express just how grateful she was.

"Anytime." He smiled again.

She sincerely hoped being rescued by the army after being held hostage by a group of terrorists wasn't an experience she was going to repeat any time soon. "I bloody hope it doesn't happen again." She muttered, and they all laughed. She paused for a second, then asked the question that had been playing on her mind. "What happens next?" She asked, almost fearfully.

"We'll get you back to base, get you checked over by the medic and then we'll make arrangements for getting you home. Have you got any family or anyone at home we need to contact?" He asked.

"This is my home though." She said slowly, after a moment's pause. And it was the truth, for years she'd put everything she had into that clinic, and the people there. She'd sold her flat, quit her job and given up everything to come out to Kenya, she didn't have anything left to go back to. That thought was more terrifying than being in the bloody helicopter.

"We can sort that all out when we get back, we should be landing any minute now." He said soothingly, as though he was worried she might freak out at any second.

He was probably right to be worried, the idea of the bloody helicopter landing had her stomach churning as she gripped on to the seat as if it could somehow save her. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to pretend she was already safely on the ground as the helicopter slowly lowered itself down towards the base. She wasn't even sure why flying bothered her, she'd never had a bad experience- the day she'd boarded the flight to Kenya was the first time she'd ever set foot on a plane, but then again maybe that was the problem. Belinda and Dave hadn't exactly had the money to take her and the rest of the kids on holiday, so it was something she'd just never done.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as someone reached over and touched her arm, her eyes flying open. Then she realised the noise of the helicopter had stopped, and they were safely on the ground.

"We're back at the base, are you going to be okay to walk?" He asked, holding a hand out to her. She looked at him for a moment- what did he say his name was? Elvis? The other three men were already out, standing beside the helicopter waiting for her.

She nodded, praying that her legs would obey her brain. The last thing she wanted was to end up on her bloody ass, needing rescuing yet again.

"Okay then." He nodded. "Nice and slowly though, okay? We've got plenty of time." He turned around and jumped down from the helicopter, leaving her to follow him slowly.

"Any news from two section yet boss?" Spanner asked. He'd caught some of what had happened over the radio on their way back, but he'd been preoccupied looking after Molly.

"They're on the way back now." Elvis answered, holding out a hand to Molly to help her down, which she didn't accept. "They cleared the compound, they've got four insurgents detained which the Kenyan forces are questioning. Good job all round boys." There was a feeling of relief from all of them, that they'd made it back with no casualties and their mission complete.

"You alright?" Elvis asked, turning his attention back to Molly. She was standing beside him, albeit a little unsteady on her feet, looking like a rabbit in headlights.

"I think so." She mumbled, she wasn't even sure. She was starting to wonder if it was all some kind of weird dream, and she was actually still stuck in that hell hole. It all just seemed so surreal.

"Come on." He said, gesturing towards the canteen area. "Let's go and find you somewhere to sit and get you a brew while we wait for Georgie to get back and check you over."

"A cuppa does sound good." She said slowly. This was honestly ridiculous, an hour ago some terrorist was about to kill her, and now here she was about to go and drink a cup of tea like nothing had happened. It was as though someone was doing it just to screw with her.

She'd just finished her mug of tea, which someone had put so much sugar in she probably could've stood a spoon up in it, when the gates swung open and the soldiers she recognised from the refugee camp piled out of a truck.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a second." Elvis stood up abruptly, the sound of the chair scraping across the floor making Molly jump. He shot Spanner and Jackson a look which was clearly telling them to stay with her and continue their babysitting duties until he came back. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he marched across the base, coming to an abrupt halt in front of Captain James. They were talking, clearly about her, because she could see them both glancing over at her every few seconds. Then Captain James called Georgie over, he said something, pointing in their direction, she nodded and then set off in their direction.

"Thanks boys." Georgie said. "You can go now, I've got this from here." She half smiled at them, she wasn't going to hold the fact they worked with Elvis against them, no matter how hard it might be.

"Thanks Georgie." Spanner nodded, standing up from the table and clearing the mugs away as he went. "You take care, okay?" He smiled at Molly before turning and walking away with Jackson close behind him.

"Are you alright to come over to the med tent so I can check you out?" Georgie asked, pointing to a tent about one hundred meters away. "Captain's orders."

"Okay." She nodded, forcing herself on to her feet again. Now the adrenaline had started to wear off, she could feel every bruise and scrape on every inch of her body, and the idea of having to walk even a few meters was a bit much. But she got up, and trailed after Georgie, keeping her eyes glued to the floor so she didn't make eye contact with anyone. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, and it made her want to curl up in a ball somewhere and never come out.

"Can you just sit on there for me please?" Georgie asked, gesturing to the bed in the middle of the tent, when they eventually reached it.

Molly cringed as she pushed herself up onto it, all of her limbs screaming in protest. "I'm okay, really." She protested.

"Do you remember when I said to you that you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Captain James?" Georgie asked, pulling on a pair of purple gloves. Molly nodded, she could vaguely remember the conversation. "Well, if you don't let me check you over and clean you up, we're both going to end up on the wrong side of him. So hold still, I'll be nice and quick and we'll get this over and done with before he comes over here to check up on us okay?" She didn't wait for an answer, starting to clean up the cuts on her arms before she could argue.


	10. Chapter 10

"Right, I think that's everything." Georgie nodded, straightening up and clearing the gauze and dressings that were now littered around the tent away. She was still a little bit surprised that Molly hadn't come out of the whole situation with more injuries. She'd got some cuts and scrapes, and some fairly extensive bruising, but all things considered it could've been a lot worse.

She pulled her gloves off and tossed them into the bin, turning around to face Molly who was still sitting motionless on the bed. She'd been silent ever since they'd started, lost in her own world. Georgie had asked her a few questions, and she'd given short one word answers, but any attempt to strike up a conversation Molly had ignored completely. She'd given up eventually, just getting on with her assessment silently, not wanting to force her to talk if she wasn't comfortable, but now she didn't know what to say.

"Knock knock." She heard Captain James outside the tent. "Can I come in?"

Georgie looked over at Molly to check with her, but she didn't even look as though she'd heard him. She was still staring at the same spot on the wall of the tent as he had been the entire time.

"Yeah, Come in Boss." She called back after a moment's hesitation, Molly still hadn't moved so she was assuming she didn't object.

"How are we doing in here?" He asked, looking back and forth between Molly and Georgie.

"We're all done." Georgie said slowly, looking over at Molly. She still hadn't moved or actually said anything. "Can I talk to you outside for a second Boss?" She was 90% sure that Molly was that out of it she wouldn't hear a word she said, but it still didn't feel right talking about her like she wasn't there.

Captain James nodded, ducking back out of the tent as Georgie followed after him. "What's wrong Lane?" He frowned.

"She hasn't moved or said a word the whole time boss." She sighed. "Physically she's fine… well maybe not fine… probably a couple of broken ribs, lots of bruising and some cuts and scrapes, but all things considered it could've been a lot worse. I'm just worried about the damage it might've done, mentally." She dropped her voice, just incase Molly could hear them.

"It's not your job Lane, you're not a psychiatrist." He reminded gently. "She's been through a lot, it's not something that she's going to forget about over night. It's also not our job."

"I know, Sir." She answered reluctantly, bracing herself for one of his 'don't get involved' lectures.

"Can you give me five minutes, I'll go and talk to her." He said, stepping back towards the entrance to the tent. "We need to start making arrangements for getting her home."

"Yes Boss." She nodded, wishing she could say no to him. Instead she just watched as he ducked back into the tent, straining her ears to hear what he was saying. She'd never say it to him, but she wasn't convinced that he was in the best frame of mind for a situation like this after everything with Rebecca.

He stood awkwardly in the doorway of the tent for a moment, watching Molly as she sat staring into space, her expression blank. He hadn't noticed when they'd originally found her in the compound- partly because his mind was on other things and also because she'd been covered in the blood of her attacker- the huge bruises that covered every visible inch of her skin. It made his stomach churn just thinking about what they might have done to her to cause those.

"Hi Molly, how are you doing?" He said slowly, trying to think of what to say. There hadn't been any training at Sandhurst for a situation like this.

For a moment he thought she was going to ignore him too, then she turned to face him with a look of confusion. "Sorry, did you say something?" She asked, she'd totally zoned out somewhere in the middle of Georgie talking to her by the looks of it.

He smiled at her kindly. "How are you doing Molly?" He asked, pulling up a chair and sitting opposite her.

"I'm fine." The words left her lips automatically.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't have to pretend you're okay, we'd all understand if you weren't."

"I don't know." She admitted quietly. "I feel like I should just be so relieved, but I'm just kind of…. numb."

He nodded. "That will be the shock."

"I know what shock is, I'm a doctor remember?" She shot back, and for a moment he had a glimpse of the woman who'd stared him down and ordered him out of her clinic.

"Right, sorry." He struggled to suppress the smile that was playing on the edge of his lips. "If it helps, Elvis does tend to have that effect on people." He joked.

"Elvis?" She frowned.

"The special forces guy we winched you up with." He explained.

"Oh right yeah." She nodded, the whole thing was a bit of a blur if she was honest. "He's a friend of yours then?"

"Something like that." He muttered, his tone had her wanting to ask more questions.

"I feel like there's a story there that you have to tell me sometime." She said, and there was the slightest hint of a smile on her lips. This was good, he could sit there and ramble on for a while if it was going to help.

"You can ask him yourself, you're going to be stuck on a plane with him all the way back to England." He smirked. "They're going to be flying back tomorrow, so they decided it made sense for you to go back with them too."

"Oh." Her face fell again, the frown lines appearing on her forehead again.

"Have you thought at all about where you're going to go when you get back?" He asked. "Have you got friends or family you can stay with?"

"I um… I haven't spoken to my parents since I told them I was going to university." She admitted, looking down at her hands. She could feel her cheeks turning red, it wasn't something she particularly enjoyed telling people.

"What happened?" He asked, the words coming out before he could stop them. He wasn't trying to pry, he was just curious- he was doing exactly what he'd just told Georgie not to and getting involved.

She shrugged, still not looking at him. "They didn't want me to go, thought I should carry on working in the nail bar so that I could give them my money and they could afford to pay the rent. Dad thought I was selfish for wanting to do something with my life rather than pay for his beer."

"But you went and did it anyway? That's amazing." He smiled.

She shrugged again. "They made it clear if I was going to do it then I wouldn't be welcome there anymore, so I packed my bags and left and I haven't spoken to them since. I guess I might have to go back there now though, for a little while at least. I'm going to need somewhere to stay until I get myself sorted."

He smiled sympathetically. "Have you got a number for them so you can call them and let them know you're okay? I'm fairly sure that someone will have gone to tell them what happened, but it might be better for them to hear it from you."

She shook her head. "I don't even know if they still live in the same place, I'm assuming they wouldn't have moved because then Dad would've had to leave his beloved bloody pub behind."

"Okay." He said slowly. "And there isn't anywhere else you can go and stay? And friends from uni or something like that?"

She shook her head. "I haven't spoken to any of them since I left to come out here, and I lost touch with all my friends from London when I left to go to Uni, so I'd better hope Mum and Dad are in a forgiving mood."

"What will you do, when you get home?" He asked.

She shrugged again. "Look for a job I suppose, then I can find somewhere to live and get my life sorted again. I've always known I can't stay out here forever, maybe this is what I needed to kick my ass into gear."

"I think there's probably easier ways to convince yourself to go home than getting kidnapped by terrorists." He muttered, shaking his head.

"I still can't believe that actually happened." Her voice dropped so it was barely a whisper. "It just seemed like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from."

He nodded slowly. "I can't imagine how awful it must have been. But you're safe now, you're going home and eventually, you'll get back to normal."

"I don't know how you can be so sure of that." She whispered. The idea of going back to London and trying to live some kind of normal life after all this just seemed ridiculous.

"Trust me." He nodded. "I've been doing this for years, but I'll never forget that first tour I did. Coming back from Afghanistan and then suddenly being back in Bath and trying to go about some kind of normal life, I couldn't wrap my head around it at first. Everything at home had stayed the same and I felt like a totally different person, but eventually you do get used to it. You just have to give yourself time."

She nodded slowly, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "Thank you… for everything."

"My pleasure." He smiled, standing up. "Now, if you're up for it, we need a referee for the final round of Two Sections Monopoly game?"

"They need a referee for monopoly?" She frowned.

He rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you haven't seen anything yet. Come on, you'll understand why as soon as you see them."

She hesitated for a second, then followed him out into the base where she could already hear them shouting and arguing with each other.


	11. Chapter 11

"How are you feeling? Ready to head home?" His voice came from behind her and frightened her half to death. It was still half dark, the sun only just beginning to rise as she tried to calm herself down.

"I'm okay." She nodded, glancing over at him as he sat down on the bench beside her.

He opened his mouth to ask her if she'd got everything, then realised what a stupid question it was. Of course she hadn't, she hadn't even got any clothes never mind any belongings. She was sitting there beside him in a pair of Lane's combats and a football shirt one of the boys had given her.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, squinting at her. Even in the dim lighting he could see just how bruised her face was. He so desperately wanted to ask her what had happened, but it wasn't his place.

"I said I'm fine okay." She snapped. "I'm going to have my bloody mother asking me that every thirty seconds in a few hours time I expect so I don't need it from you too." She felt a bit guilty for snapping at him, but he'd really picked his moment. She wasn't sure what she was more worried about, getting on a plane or having to face her family when she finally got back.

"Copy that." He said slowly, trying not to let it get to him. She didn't mean it, they both knew that. But then again, he wasn't really sure why it did bother him, it wasn't like they were friends and he'd probably never see her again after this if he was honest. His stomach dropped at the thought.

"Have you not got somewhere to be?" She asked. "Like ordering some poor sod around and making them clean the toilets?"

He smiled. "All in good time." He winked, and for a moment she just started at him.

"So, are you headed back home, to London?" He asked, changing the subject awkwardly. Why was it he felt like a bloody awkward teenager sitting there talking to her? He'd just winked at her for god's sake!

She nodded. "Yeah, back to Mum and Dads and then just go wherever I can get a job after that I guess." She shrugged. She hadn't thought through the specifics of what would happen when she got back, the thought of actually being back there was terrifying enough without adding on what she was going to do when she got there.

"Where in London do your parents live?" He asked.

"Why? You planning on stalking me?" She joked.

He could feel himself turning red. "No! I just…" what was wrong with him?

She smiled, the first genuine smile he'd seen from her. "I'm only messing with you mate, although if you are a stalker then I've had enough shit for this year alright?"

"Yeah, alright." He mumbled.

"My Mum and Dad live just round the corner from the West Ham ground. Big old block of flats, it's a bit rough but it's alright really." She shrugged. "Posh twat like you would be horrified if you ever had to set foot in the place." She joked.

He smiled. "I don't think you can really call me a posh twat, you don't even know me."

"Yeah but I do, and she's not wrong is she?" Elvis appeared beside them, raising an eyebrow at Charles. "Now I hate to break up this party but some of us have got a plane to catch."

Charles nodded. "How long is the helicopter going to be?"

"Five minutes." Elvis said. "I'm just going to say goodbye to Georgie."

Charles cocked his head. "Are you sure that's wise?"

Elvis shrugged, already backing away from them. "Probably not, but I haven't got much to lose at this point?"

"Good luck!" Charles called shaking his head.

"What's all that about?" Molly asked.

Charles shook his head. "Georgie's pissed off, and I mean she has got every right he did leave her at the altar, but he seems to think he can charm his way back."

"Bloody hell." Molly shook her head.

"Yeah, tell me about it." He sighed. "Before you go." he pulled a crumpled bit of paper out of his pocket and scribbled his phone number on it. "If you need anything, once your back then you can call me anytime, I won't be back until the end of next month but the offer still stands."

She hesitated for a moment. "Thank you." She said softly. "For everything, you've done more than enough though, you rescued me."

"It's my job." He shrugged. She rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like that, it is. You go to work and save people's lives and we run into buildings full of terrorists. It's not that different."

"I suppose." She said slowly. "God, I can't even imagine getting a normal job after all this time."

He laughed quietly. "All in good time." His eyes focused on Georgie, who was walking towards them next to Elvis. They were talking, and she didn't look like she was about to hit him so maybe whatever he'd said had actually worked.

"I just wanted to come and say goodbye." Georgie said as she reached them. She held her arms out, and Molly stood up and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, for everything." She whispered. She could feel tears welling in her eyes and she cursed herself. She never cried and she sure as hell wasn't about to start now.

"Take my number." Georgie said, thrusting a bit of paper into Mollys hand as she pulled away. "I'll come and see you when I get back?"

"Deal." Molly nodded, shoving the bit of paper into her pocket.

"Right, come on then, let's get moving I need to actually get home at some point this year." Elvis rolled his eyes.

"Oh, and one more thing, don't listen to a word he tells you Molly, he's full of shit." Georgie laughed as the four of them walked over to where the other special forces guys were waiting. They could just hear the helicopter as it approached.

"Got it." She laughed.

Elvis rolled his eyes but didn't argue.

"Thanks again." Molly said, turning to smile at Captain James again. If he said anything in return it was drowned out by the noise of the helicopter.

Elvis waved her forward and she followed him out, trying to forced down the nerves as she climbed into the helicopter to start the journey back to London.


	12. Chapter 12

"Excited to be home?" Elvis asked, sitting down heavily beside her. "We should only have an hour or so left I think."

She nodded, trying to ignore the nauseating feeling in her stomach that had been there ever since they'd got in the helicopter. How was she supposed to explain that the idea of being back in London was far less appealing than going back to the refugee camp and taking her chance with Al-Shabaab.

"You don't look too excited about it." Elvis observed. She'd been deadly silent ever since they'd boarded the helicopter. The rest of the special forces boys had fallen asleep about ten minutes after take off and were happily snoring away, leaving them alone to talk.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't have been coming back if it wasn't for all of this, I'd not got any plans to come back at all if I'm honest."

"How come?" Elvis frowned.

"Long story." She shrugged again.

"Ex boyfriend you're trying to avoid?" He smirked. "It's not worth it, Georgie's been doing her best to avoid me and then look what happened!"

Molly rolled her eyes. "Charles told me you left her at the altar, I mean thanks for rescuing me and all that, but I've gotta be honest you're a bit of a dick by all accounts."

Elvis laughed, pretending to be hurt. "Don't hold back to spare my feelings." He joked.

Molly cringed a little bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, it's not really my place to judge you." God she needed to learn to keep her mouth shut, especially if she was going to have to back home and put up with her Dad for a bit.

Elvis smiled. "I'm only messin' with you, I was a complete dick, I'll admit it, and I've regretted it every day since."

"Do you think maybe she'll give you a second chance?" Molly asked, shifting in her seat a little so she could face him.

Elvis shook his head. "I thought, just for a second when I got to the base and saw Charles stood there and I realised she was out there with him, that it was fate, that maybe we were supposed to end up back together. She's made it pretty clear that's not going to happen though, she's getting married when she gets back, found herself a doctor apparently." He looked dejected and Molly couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Elvis shrugged. "It's my own fault, I was the one that didn't turn up when I had the chance to marry her. But then again, the Army doesn't exactly make for a nice settled married life does it? I mean we all thought Charles and Rebecca were the perfect couple, but it looks like even they can't manage to make it work?"

"It must be difficult." She nodded slowly. "It's was hard enough when I was at home and working shifts. I can't imagine what it's like to just drop everything and disappear off to the other side of the world for months."

"It's weird, it ends up being surprisingly normal." He smiled. "Keeps things exciting. We haven't managed to tempt you into joining the army when we get back have we?"

She shook her head vigorously. "You haven't got a cat in hells chance of that mate." She snorted. "Don't you start harping on at me too, I got enough of that from bloody Captain James when I was working at the refugee camp."

"Maybe he's got a point?" Elvis raised an eyebrow.

"No offence, because like I said you did save my life, but I honestly don't think I could cope working with you lot every day."

"Ouch!" He laughed. "So what is the plan when you get back?"

She hesitated for a second. "I don't know, get back to work I guess. I haven't really got any ties so I'll just up and move to wherever I can get a job. I haven't thought about it that much, this wasn't exactly planned."

"What about your family?" He asked. "They're in London right? Don't you want to stay close to them?"

She shrugged, looking down at her feet. "I'm not sure how pleased they'll be to have me back, it's been a while."

"I'm sure they'll be excited to have you back. Are they coming to pick you up?"

"I wouldn't put money on it, I don't even know if anyone told them I was coming back?" Her heart dropped for a second, she couldn't imagine having to turn up unannounced on their doorstep after all these years. She started trying to think of other places she could go and stay.

"They know, Molly. It was all over the news, it tends to make headlines when a doctor gets kidnapped by terrorists."

"Oh." Her mind had gone completely blank.

"Someone will have been round, to let them know that you're safe and that you're on the way back. They'll be expecting you, I'm sure they'll be there to meet you when we land." He sounded so sure of himself, she wished she could have that kind of faith in her parents.

She'd still got vivid memories of the last time she'd seen her parents, even after all the years that had passed. She'd been stood there at the bottom of the stairs, her suitcase by her feet as Dave had screamed at her that she wouldn't be welcome back there when she failed her degree and ended up back at the nail bar where she'd belonged. Then he'd opened the front door and tossed her bag outside, slamming the door shut behind her as she'd walked away.

She hadn't been back, or even spoken to either of them since. She'd graduated, and been the only one in her class whose family hadn't been there cheering her on. She'd moved herself to the other end of the country for her first job, it was easier to pretend that she wasn't going to visit them because they were too far away than admitting the fact that they just didn't care. Then the opportunity had come up to go out to Kenya, and she hadn't looked back. She'd sort of made peace with the fact she probably wouldn't see them again.

And now in the space of a couple of days she'd been kidnapped by terrorists, rescued and was now about to face her family again for the first time in years. It was as though they were winding her up.

Elvis was still looking at her, waiting for her to say something, she realised as the noise of the plane's landing gear coming down snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking concerned.

She nodded, biting her lip. "I just bloody hate flying. Took quite a few glasses of wine and some sedatives to get me on the flight out to Kenya in the first place." She gripped the edge of the seat so tightly her knuckles went white as the plane began to descend further and she felt her stomach drop.

"There shouldn't be too much longer left to go." He said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. He'd never been very good at things like this, Georgie had scolded him more than once for his lack of empathy with other people.

He was right, and a few seconds later- although it felt like hours to Molly- the plane skidded onto the runway, waking the other guys up in the process.

"Oh thank god, someone get me a beer!" Spanner cheered.

Elvis rolled his eyes as they all started joking about what they were going to do now they were back.

"Thank you, again, for everything." Molly said quietly. Her heart had stopped racing quite so much now the plane was back on the ground, but there was still a growing knot in the pit of her stomach at the thought of what came next.

"Anytime." Elvis winked, hesitating for a moment. "Don't be a stranger okay? Now you're back, if you need anything then let me know. It's not going to be easy, going back to some sort of normal life after everything that's happened, and sometimes it's difficult for people who haven't been in that situation to understand."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Georgie was right, you're not so bad after all."

It took a moment to click in Elvis's mind. "Wait, she actually said that about me?"

Molly nodded. "I probably shouldn't have told you, don't get too excited- she's getting married remember?"

He shrugged. "At this point if she doesn't hate my guts for the rest of her life I'll be happy. But anyway, enough of my self pity, let's get you back to your family." He stood up as the plane finally came to a stop and held out a hand to help her up.

She felt awkward as she followed Elvis and the special forces, along with another dozen soldiers that had flown back across the tarmac. They'd all got bags of stuff and families to go home to, and she didn't have anything other than the borrowed clothes she was currently wearing. She'd thought after she'd been rescued the worst was over, but it looked like it might be just about to begin.

"Can you see them?" Elvis asked as they walked into the small terminal, eyes scanning the small group of people that were gathered to welcome their loved ones home.

Her eyes scanned the faces in front of her, searching backwards and forwards but there wasn't familiar face in sight. Her heart sank, and she tried to remind herself not to be disappointed. This was exactly what she'd prepared herself for, but somehow the disappointment that they hadn't bothered to come and pick her up was still crushing.

"They aren't here." She said quietly, and he could see the disappointment on her face.

"I'll give you a lift home." He offered straight away.

She shook her head, she wasn't even sure if she could face the thought of going back there and letting them tell her face to face that they still didn't want anything to do with her.

"It's fine, really. You go, I expect they're just stuck in traffic or something. I'll hang around for a little while and see if they turn up. I can get a cab or a train or something if not."

He hesitated for a moment, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some cash which he thrust into her hand. "If you need to get yourself home." He said. He handed her a scrap of paper with his phone number written on. "If you get stuck, or just need to talk to someone who understands then let me know, okay?"

"I can't." She mumbled, overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

"You can pay me back if it'll make you feel better." He suggested. "Once you're back on your feet, I take payment in the form of beer too."

Impulsively she reached out and flung her arms around him. "Thank you, for everything."

"Anytime, I'll see you soon Molly." He smiled, then he threw his bag over his shoulder and disappeared in the direction of the door.


	13. Chapter 13

It took her a few minutes to pluck up the courage to knock on her parents door. It had been so, so long since she'd actually spoken to them- and she hadn't exactly left on the best of terms either, she was a bit worried how they'd react to her suddenly being back. If she'd had a choice- literally anywhere else she could've gone- then she wouldn't have been there. It was only temporary, that was what she tried to remind herself. As soon as she could find a job and get some money together she'd be out of there again.

She knocked on the door reluctantly, standing there for a few minutes in silence as she strained to hear if there was any movement on the other side of the door. Dave was more than likely down the pub, as usual, and she couldn't hear the kids screaming so maybe her Mum wasn't there either.

She stood there awkwardly for another five minutes, wondering if she ought to cut her losses and try and find herself somewhere else to stay- although she wasn't quite sure where that might be. Then she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Turning around she saw Dave walking- or she should say staggering- in the direction of the front door, clearly pissed yet again.

"Well, look here. If it isn't our very own _Doctor Dawes._ " He sneered, leaning against the front door as he fumbled in his pockets for a key. How he was still standing was beyond her. "To what to we owe this pleasure? I thought you were too good for us these days."

She stood uncomfortably as he unlocked the door, holding it open with his foot as he glared at her.

"I thought someone had told you I was coming?" She asked. This was turning out to be a bloody nightmare. She had hoped that in the years that had passed her Dad might have at least got over her leaving a little bit, but by the looks of it she was even less welcome now, if that were even possible.

"Oh yeah, coming back to sponge off your parents?" He shook his head. "I thought with all them prospects and that career and whatever you were going off to have you'd have a house and a husband by now, not be begging to sleep on my sofa."

She bit her lip, trying to convince herself that he was drunk and didn't mean it, but the truth was he was almost certainly still going to be bitter once he eventually sobered up.

"It's just for a couple of nights." She pleaded, she couldn't believe she was actually standing there begging her own Dad to let her sleep on the sofa for a night or two, after everything that had happened. "I've literally just come back from Kenya this morning, I just need time to find myself somewhere to go."

He rolled his eyes. "This is exactly what I told you would happen, you'd get all high and mighty and decide you were going to go off and save the world, and then something bad would happen. If you'd listened to me you wouldn't have got yourself into this mess." He gave her one of those 'I told you so' looks.

"I didn't exactly plan on getting kidnapped by terrorists." She spat out through gritted teeth. She wanted, so badly, to tell him to stick his sofa and forget she'd ever been there in the first place, but she was going to have to keep quiet and stay there, for one night at least.

He smirked. "You shouldn't have been out there at all, should've been here where you belong taking care of your family. Then it wouldn't have happened."

She opened her mouth to argue with him, then closed it firmly. There was no point trying to argue with him, it was difficult enough when he was sober, never mind once he'd had a skinful.

"Well." He sighed. "I guess you'd better come in. Always knew you'd come crawling back eventually, and it looks like today's that day. It'll cost you mind, fancy doctor like you can afford to help your old Dad out a bit."

"I haven't got a job Dad, I've got no money and nowhere to live. I haven't got anything to give you." She shut the door behind her as she followed him inside.

He flopped down on the sofa, looking up at her as she stood in the doorway of the living room. "Well, you'd better sort yourself out, and quickly then." He shrugged.

She bit her tongue, desperately trying to remind herself not to rise to it. He was just as infuriating as he had been when she left the first time around. Thankfully, she was saved from having to try and talk to him by her Mum coming home.

"Molly!" Belinda shrieked, dropping the shopping bags she was holding on the floor, causing the contents to drop everywhere. "Oh it's so good to see you!" She threw her arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Thanks Mum." Molly mumbled in reply, trying to extract herself from the bear hug. She'd forgotten how painful her ribs had been until her Mum had grabbed hold of her.

"Oh look at you, Mol." Her Mum reached up to touch her bruised face. "I couldn't believe it when they told us what had happened, what on earth were you doing in Kenya?"

"It's fine Mum." She pulled away a little before her Mum could touch her face. "I've been out there for years, I was working in the medical clinic in the refugee camp."

"You're back now, that's the main thing." Belinda said, after a moment's hesitation. "It's so good to have you back here."

Molly glanced over her shoulder at her Dad, who by the looks of things had now passed out on the sofa. "I'm not sure Dad would agree with you there. I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can find myself a job and somewhere to live."

"You don't need to rush into anything." Belinda frowned. "You've been through a lot Mol, don't let anything your stupid father says make you feel like you're not welcome here. You don't need to rush out and take the first job you can get just because you don't feel like you can stay here."

"Thanks Mum." She smiled, her eyes were filling with tears. She hadn't realised up until that moment just how much she'd missed her Mum. It had been different in Kenya, she'd been so busy she hadn't really had time to think about the friends and family that she'd left behind. But now she was back, standing there in the house she'd grown up in, she was beginning to see how much had changed while she'd been gone. The kids had all grown up, without so much as a christmas or birthday card from her, her Dad still hated her just as much as he had the day she'd left, and she'd got no home or job to go to.

"Come on, let's put this away and have a cuppa." Belinda suggested, picking up the shopping from the floor and heading for the kitchen. "You'd better enjoy the peace and quiet while them lot are still at school, you ain't seen nothing like when them lot get home from school."

"It'll be good to see them all again. I've missed you all so much." She wasn't ever going to tell her Mum that when she'd been tied to a chair in that compound, convinced she was about to die, her biggest regret had been not trying to get in touch with her Mum and making things right.

"We've missed you too Mol." Belinda smiled, starting to unpack the shopping. "Don't listen to a word your father says, he's just jealous that you made it out of here and did something with your life. You know what he's like, full of shit at the best of times, never mind when he's had a beer."

"I'll be out of his hair again soon, I'll start looking for a job tomorrow. Get myself sorted and find somewhere to live."

"You don't need to do that, take some time and get yourself sorted before you rush off to work." Her Mum suggested.

"We'll see." Molly shrugged. "You know me, never been one to just sit around. The sooner I get myself back to normal the better." If she was being honest she was more frightened of allowing herself to stop and think about what had happened in Kenya, because then she might start to remember what they'd done to her- and that would be disastrous.

"It's up to you what you want to do, but don't feel pressured to leave here just because of your father."

"It's not him, it's what I want to do." She sighed. "Can I borrow your phone so I can have a look online?"

"Okay." Belinda said reluctantly. "Just promise me you're not going to take a job at the other end of the country and just disappear again. I've missed you too much."

"Promise." She smiled, taking the phone her Mum was holding towards her. "I'm not going anywhere for awhile, and you can come and visit me too, wherever I end up."

"I'll hold you to that Molly." Her Mum smiled, watching her for a second as she searched online for a job, before she turned back to unpacking her shopping.


	14. Chapter 14

"Jesus Molly, I don't mean to be harsh or anything but you look like crap. Have you actually been home?" Jess greeted her as she walked up to the nurses station ready to start the fourth night shift in a row.

"Yeah, just slept like crap thats all." Molly shrugged.

She wasn't about to go into detail of the nightmares that had been haunting her ever since she'd returned from Kenya with her new work colleagues. She'd been working in the A&E department at the Bath hospital for the last two weeks. It wasn't that she'd had any real desire to be there in particular, rather they'd been the first people to actually get back to her, and her desperation to get away from her Father and actually have something to focus on- other than those horrific memories of Kenya that had come back to haunt her- had driven her to take it. Two months living with her parents had been more than enough, and had given her a reminder of exactly why she'd been so desperate to leave the first time around.

She'd only worked nights, and she was more than happy with that. She couldn't sleep, she hadn't slept through the night since she'd been back, so it was easier to work flat out all night and then hope that by the time she got home she'd be so exhausted that she'd fall asleep without dreaming. Although, as she'd found out yesterday when she got home after her shift, that didn't always work. She'd laid there all day, and every time she closed her eyes it was like she was back in the clinic as they grabbed her all over again.

"Maybe it won't be quite as nuts as it was last night, then you might get to have a break and a nap?" Jess suggested.

Molly nodded reluctantly. She quite liked Jess, unlike the majority of the other people in the department she wasn't nosey, and hadn't tried to interrogate Molly about her personal life. The moment they'd all found out that she'd been working in Kenya, they'd all wanted to know if she knew the Doctor out there who'd been kidnapped. No, she'd answered, they hadn't ever crossed paths, and she'd disappeared off to find a patient before they could try and probe any further. If any of them ever found out the truth she'd have to leave, she couldn't deal with the way they'd all be looking at her.

"Right, let's get this started then. Who is first?" Molly asked, looking at the board in front of them. She could tell it already it was going to be a busy night, just from looking at the sheer volume of patients that were already waiting.

Jess tossed a set of notes onto the desk in front of her. "Cubicle one, possible broken arm."

"Okay." Molly nodded, flicking through the notes. She was relieved it was something nice and easy, to start with at least.

"Oh and just a heads up." Jess said, leaning in a little closer. "The parents are at each other's throats about who should've been watching him."

"Wonderful." Molly groaned. "Just what I need to start the shift."

"Enjoy." Jess laughed as Molly reluctantly walked off in the direction of the cubicle. She really wasn't in the mood to have to referee someone else's domestic. She'd spent enough time doing that with Belinda and Dave when she was growing up. Coupled with the fact that she was exhausted and she could feel a headache coming on, she would rather be anywhere other than there.

She could hear them arguing already as the approached the curtain, and she had to fight the temptation to turn around and walk away again. She'd actually rather spend the night looking after someone who'd had far too much to drink, like she had last night. Although, the moment when he'd thrown up down her had been far from pleasurable.

The voices behind the curtain dropped, although she could still hear them bickering in hushed tones, so she took the opportunity to walk in. Get it over and done with, that's what she was trying to tell herself. It was only 9pm, so the likelihood was her night was going to get a whole lots worse than this.

"Hi, I'm Molly, I'm one of the doctors here. You must be Sam?" She asked, pulling the curtain closed behind her and heading for the side of the bed.

"Molly?" She looked up at the sound of her name, to find the man who'd rescued her staring at her in confusion.

"You two know each other?" The snooty looking blonde woman who she assumed was his wife asked. She didn't look like she was happy about this.

"Not really." Molly interjected before he could say anything. "We met once, a long time ago. It's good to see you again. Now then Sam, can you tell me what happened to you?" She turned back to her work, trying to pretend he wasn't standing there watching her.

"Poor supervision from his father, that's what happened.." Molly cringed, waiting for another argument."He climbed up onto the kitchen counter trying to get something out of the cupboard, because someone wouldn't get off the sofa to get it for him, and he slipped and fell off."

"Is that right Sam?" Molly asked, watching as he nodded reluctantly. She saw his gaze wander to his parents, and from the look he gave them she imagined he'd been given quite the telling off before they'd turned on each other. "Have you hurt yourself anywhere else apart from your arm?" She asked, turning to get a pair of gloves from the box on the wall behind her. She briefly met Charles's eye as she looked up and forced herself to look back down at Sam.

He shook his head, looking back over at him Mum.

"Okay, that's great." Molly smiled. "I'm going to have a quick look at your arm and then we'll send you off to have an X-ray so we can have a look at the bones okay?"

She got another nod in reply. He didn't make a sound, even as she felt his arm- which was definitely broken. She didn't need an x-ray to tell her that. "I'm pretty sure it's broken, but we'll do the x-ray to confirm. I'll go and grab someone to take you down there okay?"

"Thank you." His Mum answered, as she pulled her gloves off and tossed them in the bin.

"I'll see you in a little while." Molly smiled, pulling the curtain back and disappearing as quickly as she could. It was like she was suffocating with him in there watching her.

"Molly wait!" He called, jogging to catch up with her as she walked back over to the nurses station. It had thrown him completely, seeing her walk in. She seemed so… well, normal. He wasn't sure what he'd pictured, he hadn't heard from her at all and neither had Georgie, but by the looks of things she'd got her life sorted and that was why.

She spun round to face him. "Can I help you Captain James?" She sighed.

"I just wanted to ask how you were, after everything you've been through. It can't be easy." He frowned.

"Let me stop you there." She stepped towards him, only so that she could whisper to avoid anyone overhearing the conversation. One thing she'd learned about his place very quickly was that gossip spread like wildfire. "What happened in Kenya, I can't go back and change it but it's done. I need to move on with my life and get myself sorted, the last thing I need is everyone I work with finding out what happened and them all asking about it."

"Sorry." His cheeks flushed and she felt bad. "I've been worried about you, that's all. So's Georgie, you never called either of us."

Molly shrugged, she looked over his shoulder and she could see Jess standing there staring at them. She was going to be getting interrogated about this later, that was for sure. "You don't have to look after me. You did your bit, you rescued me, and I'll be grateful for that forever, but you don't have to make sure I'm okay. It's not your job!"

"We were worried about you, it's not a crime." He attempted to joke but she didn't crack a smile.

"Well, worry over. As you can see I'm perfectly fine." She shrugged. She felt terrible, he was so nice, but she could barely look at him without feeling like she'd been transported back to Kenya all over again. It was making her feel sick.

"Can we get a coffee or something?" He asked. "Then we can talk properly?"

She shook her head. "I'm working, and you need to be with your son."

"It doesn't have to be now, maybe another day. I could meet you here or somewhere else?" He suggested.

"I don't know- I.." She was interrupted by someone shouting for help from one of the nearby cubicles. "I've got to go!" She called back over her shoulder, running around the corner to see what was going on, leaving him standing there on his own for a moment before he turned around and went back into the cubicle so Rebecca could finish her lecture on what a terrible parent he was.


	15. Chapter 15

"Tell me everything, now!" Jess was in front of her the second she made it out of the cubicle, having narrowly avoided someone puking on her for the second night in a row.

"What?" Molly frowned. "You were literally just in there with me?"

"No!" Jess shrieked, waving her hand dismissively. "Not the patient, that gorgeous man who was with the boy with the broken arm!"

"Oh." Molly was quiet for a second. "He's just someone I knew from a while back, that's all."

"I'm going to need more than that!" Jess persisted. "He left his phone number for you by the way." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper, passing it to Molly.

Molly had to fight back a groan as she looked at it. His phone number written neatly in the centre with an instruction for her to call him so they could arrange to meet up for coffee.

"I take it they're not still here?" Molly asked, somehow praying he'd gone and hoping he hadn't simultaneously.

Jess shook her head. "No someone else sorted the little boy out and discharged him while you were busy. They left about twenty minutes ago."

Molly breathed a sigh of relief as she screwed the paper up into a ball and tossed it into a nearby bin. She was tempted to meet him, just so she could have a go at him for ruining her nice peaceful existence at work. She was never going to hear the end of it.

"Hey!" Jess protested. "If you're not interested then you could at least give that to me, I wouldn't say no."

Molly shook her head. "You don't want to go there Jess, trust me." She sighed, picking up the next set of notes that were on the desk and walking off to find her next patient before Jess could try and probe any further.

The key to avoiding questions was going to be keeping as busy as possible for the rest of the night, which wouldn't be difficult at all judging by the look of the packed waiting room.

"Don't think you're getting away with this Molly Dawes!" Jess called after her. "You're going to answer all my questions at some point!"

Just under twelve hours later, and so tired she could barely move she dragged herself out of the door and into the blinding morning sunlight. Her whole body ached, and the idea of walking home was so unappealing she did consider turning around and going back inside to find herself a quiet corner to sleep in instead.

The only saving grace was she had managed to more or less avoid Jess and her countless questions for the rest of the night. She was now off for two days so with a bit of luck by the time she came back Jess might have forgotten all about. God she hoped so.

"You look like you could use a coffee." She recognised his voice immediately as he walked up beside her.

"You some sort of stalker or something?" She asked, squinting at him in the sunlight. He was smirking back at her.

"Not usually." He smiled. "But you weren't going to ring me back were you, so I had to do something."

"I haven't had a chance to ring you yet." She muttered. "You should try having a little patience."

"You might've struggled since you threw my number away." He raised an eyebrow and she suddenly felt like a naughty school child.

She looked down at her feet feeling awkward. "How did you know about that?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Let's just say your friend is very keen for you to have a coffee with me for some reason." He smiled. "She even went as far as telling me what time your shift was over so I could come and meet you."

"How kind of her." Molly muttered, already thinking in her head all of the ways she was going to get Jess back for this.

"So, coffee?" He asked. "We could get breakfast even?"

Molly shook her head. "I'm dead on my feet. I've been at work for over twelve hours. The only place I'm going is my bed, and you're sure as hell not invited."

That slightly annoying smirk had crept back onto his face again. "Come on, let me buy you a coffee. Please?" He tried again.

"Shouldn't you be at home looking after your injured son?" She shot back at him. It was a low blow, she knew that but she was rapidly running out of ways to get rid of him. She didn't want to go and have a coffee with him so they could talk about all the ways what happened in Kenya had fucked her up. Not now and not ever.

"Let's just say I'm not really very welcome there at the moment." His face was grim, and she immediately felt awful for saying it.

"Sorry." She cringed. "I didn't mean it, I'm tired and well, it's been a long night. Come on, let's go and get this bloody coffee before I change my mind."

"Am I getting pity coffee now?" He asked as he followed her back into the hospital and into the cafe.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You were the one who was desperate to do this. Do you really care why I'm here?"

He shook his head. "I suppose not. What do you want?" He asked.

"I'll have a tea please." She answered. "I'll go grab that table over there." She told him, pointing to an empty one in the corner.

He nodded, joining that back of the queue at the counter as she walked over to sit down. The second she sat down a wave of tiredness hit her, the last four nights all catching up with her in one go, and she briefly wondered if he'd some how manage to catch up with her if she ran home to the comfort of her bed while his back was turned. Something told her the answer was yes.

She stayed where she was, although she was struggling to keep her eyes open by the time he sat down opposite her with their drinks. She wondered if she should've gone for a double espresso rather than a tea. She was going to need something to keep her awake long enough to get home.

"So." He broke the silence after an awkward few moments. "How have you been? I've got to say I was really surprised to see you last night."

"I wasn't exactly expecting to see you either." She muttered. "I'm fine, everything's good." She shrugged.

"What are you doing in Bath?" He asked, trying a different approach. "I thought you said your family was in London?"

"They are." She shrugged again, taking a sip of her tea. It burned her mouth, but it gave her a much needed moment to think before she spoke. "I needed a job and fancied a change of scenery and this was both of those things so I thought I'd give it a go."

He nodded, stirring his coffee for a moment before looking back up at her. "And how are you finding it?"

"It's good." She wasn't really sure what he was trying to get out of her, and it was really bothering her. "I'm enjoying the job, the hospital is great."

"And outside of work?" He probed. He wanted to find out how she really was, not how great the hospital was.

She sipped at her tea again. "I'm a doctor, there isn't really an outside of work. I'm here, I work, I go home and I sleep."

He frowned. "How are you coping, with everything that happened in Kenya? Are you getting flashbacks or anything? Because I know how difficult it can be to adjust to normal life again once you've seen something like that, let alone lived through it."

"I'm fine, everything's perfect." She answered dismissively, wondering if it was acceptable for her to leave yet. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted to meet him in the first place. Dredging everything up all over again wasn't going to help.

"You're not convincing me." He frowned. "It's okay for it not to be okay. You've been through a lot."

"I don't think you're really in any position to be giving me life advice after what I saw last night. Maybe you ought to try sorting your own life you before you start trying to fix mine." The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, and there was nothing she could do to take it back. She could see the hurt written all over his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

He cut her off. "It's fine." His tone was clipped and she could tell just by looking at him that it really wasn't fine. "I'd better get going, but it was nice to see you. I'm glad everything worked out and good luck with everything."

He was stood up and gone before she could even think about following after him. The last thing she saw was the top of his head as he disappeared through doors and out into the car park.

She let out the groan she'd been holding back as her head sunk into her hands. The man had quite literally saved her life, and then made the effort to come and check that she was doing okay after and this was how she had repaid him.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hi everyone, sorry this isn't the most exciting of chapters but I've been struggling with this one for a little while hopefully the next one will be more exciting for you. Thanks for reading!_

The unknown number flashing up on her screen filled her with hope for a second that he might be calling her. She'd be home from work a few hours, and she was still laying in bed staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. It wasn't the nightmares from Kenya that had haunted her this time, it was the look on his face as those stupid bloody words had left her mouth.

He'd just been trying to help, to be the friend that she so desperately needed in all of this no matter how much she hated to admit it. He was someone that she could talk to and he would understand what she'd been through, might be able to help her move on from it if she'd actually let him in, but she'd thrown it back in his face and now he'd probably never want to talk to her again.

Still, as she answered the phone there was a little bit of hope left that it might be him, that she might get her chance to apologise.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Molly, it's Georgie." The female voice on the other end spoke. It took a few seconds for it to click in Molly's mind.

"Oh, hi sorry. I did mean to call I just…" she trailed off. She didn't have an excuse, she hadn't called Georgie for the same reason she hadn't called Charles. She thought things would be easier if she didn't have any reminders of Kenya, and those two were definitely reminders.

"You don't need to pretend you were planning to call, it's fine." Georgie cut straight to the point. "I spoke to Charles earlier and he told me what happened, I said I'd just give you a call and make sure you were okay. Let you know I'm here if you do need someone to talk to, but by the sounds of it you've got it all sorted anyway."

Even after what she'd said to him he'd still sent someone to check on her. If she was honest he was probably better off steering well clear of her, because this only went to show that he was far too good for her.

"Molly?" Georgie prompted, and it was only then that Molly realised she hadn't actually said anything, she'd been too busy staring into space thinking.

"I don't know about got everything sorted." She mumbled. Part of her wanted to tell her, be honest with someone for once, about just how close she was to totally falling apart. It was easier to pretend at work when she was rushed off her feet, but when she got back home and she was sat in that empty flat all alone it was a different story.

"I don't want to stick my nose in or anything." Georgie said slowly. "I'm not going to do what Charles did and ambush you at work or anything, but if you want to talk I'm here and I'm more than happy to listen."

"It's fine, really." She forced herself to smile in the hope it might make her sound a little bit more genuine. "You've got better things to do, it must be your wedding soon isn't it?" She tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, only got a couple of weeks left to go. Mind you there's only so many times I can talk bloody seating plans with my mother." She could hear a hint of exasperation in Georgies voice. "To be honest you'd be doing me a favour if you got me out of the house for a few hours."

"I don't know." Molly hesitated. "I'm really busy with work and everything at the minute."

"Are you free later? I'm actually in Bath, that was sort of why I called. I had to do some things and I popped in to see Captain James and that was when we got talking about you. I've actually got to go back home again tonight." Georgie held her breath waiting for the answer. She wasn't even sure why Charles was so hell bent on making sure Molly was okay after what had happened. Yes, she'd made friends with her in Kenya, but if she didn't want to be her friend now she wasn't going to force it on her, but Charles wasn't going to take no for an answer so she'd called Molly to see what was going on.

"Okay." Came the reluctant answer from the other end of the phone. "Just text me and let me know where and when you want me to meet you. I've been at work all night so I should probably get some sleep." She wasn't sure why she'd even agreed. The last thing she wanted to do was leave her bed, never mind go and answer a load of questions on how she was doing.

"Great." Georgie smiled. "I'll see you in a couple of hours." The phone went dead as Georgie hung up.

Molly flung her head back into her pillow, groaning, wondering why she didn't just say no in the first place. What she really wanted to do was go back in time and go back to that coffee shop with charles earlier that day. Maybe that way she could remind herself to keep her stupid mouth shut and things might've worked out differently.

She could tell Georgie how sorry she was, maybe she'd pass on the message, she thought as she lay there tossing and turning in an attempt to get herself to sleep. It was hopeless though, she wasn't going to sleep, she was just going through the motions as she did every day.

Her phone buzzed, a text from Georgie asking her to meet her at a cafe near the train station in an hour. She threw the duvet off with a sigh, giving up on the idea of trying to sleep all together and trying to make herself look vaguely human ready to meet Georgie in an attempt to try and convince her that she really had got her life together.

It did briefly enter her mind that she could just not turn up, but she had a feeling that Georgie was a little too persistent to let her her get away with that.


	17. Chapter 17

She almost didn't recognise Georgie as she walked into the cafe. She looked so different sitting at a table in a cafe out of her army uniform. She smiled and returned Georgie's wave as she queued up at the counter to get herself a cup of tea, fighting the sudden urge she had to turn around and run out of the door and all the way home. She had literally no idea why she'd agreed to this. She should've just lied and said she was working.

The queue in front of her moved quickly, and before she knew it she was sitting down opposite Georgie, staring down at the mug of tea in front of her to avoid having to look her in the eye.

"It's good to see you." Georgie smiled, breaking the silence. "I was starting to think you might not show up."

"I thought about it." She admitted, looking up at her. "I'm sorry I didn't call you when I got back, I just sort of thought it might be easier."

Georgie smiled sympathetically. "How are you doing, really?" She asked.

"I'm okay." Molly shrugged. What was she supposed to say to that question? She'd spent months perfecting acting as if everything were perfectly normal, it was difficult to let her guard down enough to actually tell someone the truth for once. "I'm back at work, keeping busy- you know."

Georgie nodded. "Charles said you were working in A&E?"

Molly nodded, relieved to shift the topic of conversation for now at least. "Yeah, I've been doing nights. Keeps me out of trouble. That was actually how I ended up running into Charles."

"Yeah, he said that Sam had broken his arm." Georgie replied. "I guess that means you probably got to meet Rebecca too?"

"Yeah that was… Interesting." Molly cringed. "How is Sam doing though? I didn't really get much chance to ask."

"He's okay I think, driving them up the wall by the sounds of it." She smiled fondly. "He's a good kid."

"He seems it." Molly nodded.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened with Charles? Because he didn't really say a lot, other than he was worried about you but you didn't want to talk to him."

Molly hesitated. "I feel really bad about that."

"I didn't think it sounded like you."

"I don't know what happened, I think he just sort of took me by surprise. I wasn't really expecting him to be there waiting for me after my shift. I wasn't ever expecting to see either of you again if I'm honest." She paused for breath, trying to find the right words. "I feel really bad, I know he's just trying to help but it's taken a lot for me to try and forget about what happened and the last thing I want to do is drag it all up again."

"Has that actually worked?" Georgie asked curiously. "Just forgetting it all? Because in my experience it's usually a bit harder than that." She'd seen so many things on tour that she really wished she could've erased from her mind, but she knew that no matter how hard she'd tried the memories had still been there. There was no way Molly could've been though all that and simply pushed it out of her mind and forgotten about it all, no matter how hard she tried.

"A bit." Molly answered slowly. It wasn't a total lie, she was more of a functional person than she had been when she first got home. She was managing to work and actually leave the house, which was a major improvement. "I'm doing okay, I keep busy. I'm better when I haven't got time to stop and think. It was just, seeing Charles, and even sitting here with you now- just seeing you both again it brings it all back."

"I can understand that." Georgie nodded. "It's not the same, but every time I look at bloody Elvis it's like I'm standing there in that church waiting for him all over again."

Molly cringed. "Yeah, he kinda told me about that on the way home. I'm sorry."

Georgie shrugged. "You don't have to be sorry, everyone warned me about him and I didn't listen. I've got Jamie now anyway." She smiled.

"How are things going with the wedding?" Molly asked.

"My Mum is driving me mad, she wants it all to be perfect- especially after what happened last time. I know she only wants to help but I was glad to get out of there for a couple of days. There's only so many times we can discuss the seating plan before I'm actually going to go insane." She laughed, shaking her head. Her mum was probably sharing the same irrational panic that she was, that Jamie might suddenly turn into Elvis and leave her standing there at the altar all on her own again.

"It'll be perfect I'm sure." Molly smiled. "You deserve it, and Jamie sounds like a great guy."

"He is." Georgie nodded in agreement. "Now anyway, enough about the wedding, I came here to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." The words rolled off her tongue automatically. How many times had her new work colleagues asked her if she was okay in the first few weeks? She'd lost count, but eventually they'd got used to her being sleep deprived and withdrawn from them all. Now they didn't even bother to ask, and that was just easier.

Georgie didn't say anything, she just raised an eyebrow and gave her a knowing look.

"Fine, I'm not totally okay yet, but I will be." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Georgie or herself. "A lot happened to me in Kenya, even before you got there. I'm not the same person I was when I left and that's going to take some getting used to."

"You know, no one would blame you if you were a bit messed up by what happened." Georgie said slowly. She was a bit worried she was going to say the wrong thing and end up getting the same reaction Charles had. "You've been through so much, things no one should ever have to experience. You don't have to be okay and go back to work straight away. You're allowed to fall apart if that's what you need."

"I do have to be okay though." Molly sighed. "I couldn't stay with my parents, and to have somewhere to live you need to have money, which requires a job- which means you have to get your shit together and be a functional person whether you're ready to or not."

"What happened with your parents, did they not have room?" Georgie asked.

Molly hesitated for a second, wondering whether to lie or actually tell her the truth. "No, they had room. They're just not very supportive of the fact that I'm a doctor."

"What? That's ridiculous!" The words fell out of Georgies mouth before she could stop herself. "Sorry. Why?"

Molly shrugged. "They weren't exactly happy when I said I was leaving to go to uni. They thought that I should stay and carry on working so I could help them pay the bills. They really needed the money, and when I said I was going they said I wouldn't ever be welcome back there. I thought maybe given what had happened they would've changed their minds but apparently not. I did stay there for a bit, but my dad made it very clear I wasn't welcome, so the first job I got I took and that was how I ended up here."

"I'm so sorry Molly, you should've called or something."

"It's fine, really." Molly smiled. "It's not like it was your fault. You've all been amazing and you really didn't have to be. You and Charles trying to check up on me, even bloody Elvis tried to pay for my taxi home when we got back."

"Bloody hell, hope you got that on camera. He doesn't get his wallet out very often." Georgie laughed.

Molly laughed too, and it was the first time in a while she'd felt genuinely happy. "I'll be fine, really. Don't feel like you have to keep checking up on me and worrying."

"I don't feel like I have to, I want to." Georgie smiled. "Don't be a stranger okay? You've got my number now, you can call me any time."

Molly nodded. "Can I ask you a favour before you go?"

Georgie looked at her expectantly.

"Can you give me Charles number? I really need to ring him and apologise for what I said. He was only trying to help and I was awful to him." It was a phone call she was already dreading, but she knew she'd feel guilty if she didn't do it.

Georgie glanced at her watch. "Of course I will. I have really got to get going or I'm going to miss my train, but I'll text it to you okay?"

"Thank you, for everything." Molly said, standing up from the table as Georgie got up.

Georgie pulled her into a hug before she had a chance to realise what was happening and she had to remind herself to take a breath and not to panic- it was only Georgie, she wasn't going to hurt her.

"Any time." Georgie whispered in her ear. "Don't let Charles give you too much grief okay? He was asking for it a bit turning up like some kind of stalker."

"I won't tell him you said that." Molly laughed.

"Best not!" Georgie grinned, releasing Molly from her hug. "Stay in touch okay? Maybe you can come and see me sometime soon?"

"That sounds good." Molly nodded. "Thanks again for this, it was exactly what I needed."

"It was good to see you." Georgie smiled, edging towards the door. "Right I really have to go, Jamie is going to kill me if I miss this train. I'll text you when I'm on there! Bye!"

She was already halfway out of the door as Molly said goodbye and she watched her out of the window for a moment as she disappeared into the station, before slowly making her own way home.


	18. Chapter 18

"Hi… um.. It's me Molly, if you could just.. Y'know call me back at some point then that would be great." She mumbled, cringing as she listened to herself talking. She'd left him more voicemails than she could count since Georgie had given her his number in an attempt to get him to call her back so she could at least apologise for what she'd said, but so far it had been absolute silence. Not even a text back to tell her to leave him alone.

She probably ought to stop calling him, while she'd at least got some pride left, but instead she'd found herself sneaking outside when she'd finally managed to grab five minutes to herself during her Friday night shift to call him. It had been hell on earth since she'd walked into work that evening, and she wasn't even a quarter of the way through her shift somehow. The waiting room was crowded full of the usual drunken injuries of a Saturday night, and she was exhausted already- she just didn't have the patience for it.

She'd spent the day at home, trying desperately to get her mind to shut off enough to let her sleep. Instead she'd been haunted with the images of Kenya that would be forever burned into her brain. Every time she closed her eyes it was as though she was back there in that little makeshift cell, she could feel their breath on her skin, their hands on her. It made her feel as though she was going to suffocate and throw up at the same time, even though she knew she was perfectly safe laying there in her bed.

As a result she'd been tired and tetchy before she even got as far as getting ready for work, then she'd walked in and seen the full waiting room and for a second she'd wanted to turn around and run back out again. Then again, if she went home she'd be sitting in her flat on her own with too much time to think. So she'd forced herself to put her scrubs on, fake a smile and get on with her job. It had worked, to a degree. She hadn't stopped to think or even take a breath up until now.

She started at the screen of her phone for a few more seconds after hanging up from her latest embarrassing voicemail, willing the phone to ring. After a few seconds of hoping she shoved the phone back into her pocket and headed back inside to see what was waiting for her.

It was nearly 8am by the time she was ready finally to go, and every single inch of her body ached. It'd been a hell of a night, and somehow it'd gone by in a blur and felt like it was never going to end simultaneously. She hadn't even had a chance to worry about the fact that Charles had never called her back, thankfully.

As she picked up her bag and headed for the door she dialled his number again preparing herself to leave yet another cringe worthy voice mail for him to laugh at. When he answered after the first ring she almost dropped the phone she was so surprised to hear his voice on the other end.

"Hi um… its Molly." She mumbled, she could feel he face turning red and thanked her lucky stars he couldn't actually see her.

"I know, I got your messages." She couldn't tell from his tone of voice if he was annoyed she'd called again or not.

"Right… sorry." She breathed. What was the thinking? She should've given up on trying to call him about six messages ago. "I um… well I just wanted to make sure that you'd got them and that you knew how sorry I am for what I said… which I've done, so I should probably go and just leave you too it." She didn't hang up though, she found herself hanging on and listening to the sound of his breath on the end of the phone.

"Wait." He answered. "Don't hang up just yet, I'm sorry I didn't call you back but things have been a bit hectic. I was going to, I promise."

"It's okay, you don't have to feel bad. I don't really know what I was thinking." God she wished she'd had a little more self control and hadn't left all those messages. It was probably a good thing that she'd never see him again after this.

"I'm not just saying it because I feel bad, I'm telling you the truth." He sighed. "Are you working tonight?"

She shook her head in response, then realised that he couldn't see her and she was going to need to actually use some words. "No. I've just finished work now and then I've got a couple of days off." She could feel her heart pounding in her chest- why did he know what she was doing at the weekend?

"I'm meeting the boys from two section for some drinks later if you fancy it?" He asked. "I know they'd all love to see you again, Georgie will be there too, and they do keep telling me that you'd promised them a beer."

"Bloody hell they've got good memories." She muttered. She could vaguely remember making a joke about buying them all a beer, but she couldn't believe anyone had actually remembered.

He laughed quietly. "If there's one thing those boys will remember, it's the promise of free alcohol. So are you in?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, okay sounds good."

"Great." She could've sworn he sounded relieved. "I've got to go, but I'll find out where we're going and text you? Then we can talk properly?"

"Okay, see you later." She agreed before he hung up the phone. She felt her stomach flip with anticipation as she shoved her phone back into her pocket and headed for home. Then it hit her she was going to have to find something to wear that wasn't scrubs or her pyjamas.

At 8pm that night she found herself stood nervously in front of the pub he'd given the address on, contemplating just turning around and going straight back home. She'd felt fine, up until she point where she'd got to the door and she could see them all sitting in the far corner laughing together. That was when she'd started to think maybe she'd made a mistake.

It was too late now by the looks of things, as Charles caught her eye and waved, standing up from the table and heading in her direction.

"Molly! You came!" He looked and sounded just as surprised as she was to find herself there.

"I nearly didn't make it, I had a rough night at work last night. I can't make any promises I'll stay awake." She joked. She took a breath to try and calm herself down. If it came to it she'd use the fact she'd been at work all night and go home in a couple of hours.

"We'd best get you a drink then!" he smiled, pointing to the bar. She followed him awkwardly. "What can I get you? Beer? Wine?"

"Oh I don't actually drink. A Diet Coke would be great?" She said, his face fell a little.

"Sorry."

"You don't need to apologise." She laughed quietly. "I partied a little too hard at one point and went off it." She explained.

"Fair enough, I on the other hand am in desperate need of another beer if I'm going to have to put up with two section!" He laughed as he ordered. "I'll never know why I agree to come on these nights out, I'm glad you came, it'll be good to have some adult company for a change!"

"I'm really glad you invited me." She said slowly, watching as the bartender got their drinks. "I'm really sorry, about the other day, I don't know what I was thinking I just…."

He cut her off. "It's fine Molly, really."

She shook her head. "No, it isn't. Things have been difficult since I've been back, but that's not your fault and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

He paused for a second to take their drinks and pay for them, handing her her glass. "Really, don't worry about it. I think we've all said things we've regretted at some point or another. Just forget about it and enjoy tonight, it's really good to see you again. Now, you'd better brace yourself for two section!" He laughed.

She followed him over to the table rather apprehensively, she couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on their night out.

"Look who it is boys!" Someone shouted as she sat down next to Charles, she couldn't work out who over all the noise. She smiled at Georgie, who was sitting opposite her, and suddenly didn't feel quite as nervous. It was a nice change from sitting in her flat on her own, it almost felt like she belonged.


	19. Chapter 19

Several hours, and pints later, two section had rearranged the furniture to make a space and for some unknown reason were trying to form a human pyramid. Georgie had long since left to go and find Jamie, leaving Molly and Charles watching on in horror. The doctor in her couldn't help but look at all of the ways they could injure themselves and break various bones. She had a feeling there wasn't going to be any stopping them regardless, and she had to admit it was quite funny to watch.

She hadn't planned on staying long at all. But somewhere along the course of the evening she'd found herself relaxing and listening to them as they all took the piss out of each other and told stories of the places they'd been and the things they'd seen. Mansfield had briefly started to talk about Kenya, and she'd been so grateful to Charles for the look he'd shot him that had stopped him in his tracks. She didn't think she'd ever get to the point where she could listen to anyone talk about it without feeling like she wanted to throw up.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Charles laid his hand on her arm to get her attention as she watched the lads fooling around. He retracted his hand quickly as she flinched and she immediately felt bad- how could she explain that she was still jumpy at the best of times.

"Shall we go and get another drink?" He asked, gesturing towards the bar.

She nodded in agreement, following him over. It'd be nice to get five minutes alone with him and some peace and quiet so they could have a proper conversation. She glanced back over her shoulder as she heard a cheer come from two section, who had somehow managed to get their pyramid up- which lasted all of two seconds before they came crashing back down to the ground, then immediately started to try again.

Charles shook his head. "They're bloody good soldiers when they're on tour, then I see them like this and they're bloody idiots."

Molly laughed quietly, sliding onto the bar stool next to him. "I don't know how you do it."

He smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "I think it's luck, most of it. We just go wherever they send us and follow orders, it comes down to luck a lot of the time whether things go to plan or not. Not that I'd tell them that of course."

Molly nodded. "I honestly can't imagine it, going into that kind of unknown all the time. Never knowing where you might end up or what you might be doing."

He shrugged. "It's the life we all chose, no one made us do it. Mind you, I can vouch for the fact it's not a great combination when you've got a wife and child at home waiting for you." He almost winced as he said it.

"How is Sam?" She asked.

"He's okay." She couldn't help but notice the way his face lit up as he talked about his son- she didn't think she'd ever seen either of her parents look at her like that. "He's just a bit bored I think, keeps asking when he can go back to football, and complaining that Rebecca won't let him do anything fun. Mind you I darent try and say anything to her, I'll take the bloody Taliban over her when she's in a bad mood any day!"

"How are things with you two?" She asked, then wondered if she'd overstepped the mark. "Sorry, it's none of my business you don't have to answer that."

He shook his head. "It's fine, really. It's quite nice to have someone to talk to. I mean I'm not going to talk to any of the lads, at the end of the day I'm their commanding officer I can't be going round telling them things like this and my mother has a whole set of opinions on this that we won't even go into."

"Well, luckily for you I happen to be quite a good listener." She smiled, waving the bartender over and ordering them another drink each. "So, do I dare ask what happened?"

He took a long sip of the beer she'd just put in front of him, trying to think of how to word it. "The army happened I suppose? Like I said it's not really very compatible with the kind of life Rebecca wanted to leave. I think she just thought eventually I'd have enough of going on tour and we'd settle down and she'd get the family life she wanted. But that's not really the way things work, and then that last tour to Kenya really put a strain on things."

"How does Sam feel about you being away?" She asked. "It must be strange for him?"

"He's not ever known anything different, to be honest I think he'd find it weird if I was there all the time. He had a bit of a tantrum when he found out I was going to Afghanistan the last time, but I'm not entirely sure Rebecca didn't put him up to it to try and guilt me into staying."

"So how are things with you two now?" She asked hesitantly. She didn't want to seem like she was prying but she was curious.

"Awkward." He laughed dryly. "It's over, we both know it is, but it's not as simple as that is it? There's Sam to consider and we're both still living in that house because we're trying to keep things normal for his sake. We've sort of agreed that I'll move out and her and Sam can stay in the house but I just haven't actually got as far as finding somewhere yet."

"I'm really sorry." She smiled sympathetically.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, I think if I was being brutally honest I've known it was going to happen for a long time. Me getting on that plane to Kenya was the final nail in the coffin but I still did it, that must say something. Besides, I'm almost relieved that it's finally done and we can sort things out and move on with our lives- is that bad?" He looked at her for some kind of answer.

"No." She shook her head slowly. "All anyone really wants is to move on, but it's not going to be that easy is it? You need to try and keep things good for Sam, even if that means you have to spend a little more time with her than you would've liked."

"Look at you, the wise doctor." He smiled. "How come you're so good at all this?"

She returned the smile. "Because a lot of the time, once you've fixed what's wrong with the patient you end up turning into a social worker to try and fix the problem that landed them in the hospital in the first place. Let's just say you two certainly weren't the first arguing parents I'd dealt with and I'd bet my life on the fact that you won't be the last either."

"I honestly couldn't believe it when you walked in there." He shook his head, running his finger around the rim of his glass. "I'd been wondering for months what had happened to you, trying to work out how I could get hold of you to check you were okay and then there you were, stood right in front of me."

"Believe me, I was just as surprised to see you there." She laughed. "I can't say I was exactly planning to ever see any of you again."

"Ah, but then you never would've got to spend this lovely evening in my fabulous company!" He winked.

"Don't flatter yourself mate, I think I probably would've managed to survive." She laughed.

He said something, but she never quite caught it. The conversation was interrupted by the almighty crash of the two section human pyramid collapsing into the table they'd been sat at previously. It was a good job the pub was quiet, although the couple of other people sat at the bar looked less than impressed.

"For gods sake." Charles muttered, pushing himself off the stool and picking up his beer. "This is why they call them the under 5's, they need the same amount of supervision as a group of bloody toddlers."

Molly couldn't help but laugh as he marched off to sort them all out. She trailed behind watching as they all jumped up off the floor and straightened up the furniture that they'd knocked over. She could here a few apologetic mumbles as Charles stood over them.

"You're bleeding, sit down." She caught sight of the blood dripping from Fingers forehead as he finished straightening the table up.

He raised his fingers up to touch it and looked at the blood on his fingers in confusion. "It's okay, it's just a scratch. Hard as nails me!"

"Sit. Now." She ordered, stepping towards him. She could see Charles standing beside her smirking as Fingers did exactly as instructed. She wiped the blood off with a spare napkin from the table, tilting his head to try and get a better look in the dim light. She could see him biting his lip trying to look like it didn't hurt as she touched the wound.

"Well, I'd say you'll probably live, for now at least." She said after a few seconds. "Maybe just sit down and no more pyramids or anything stupid for the rest of the night though boys?"

There was a mumbled chorus of yes's as Charles stood behind them smirking. He didn't think he'd ever seen two section look so remorseful- it reminded him of the time he'd caught Sam in the middle of the night opening all the presents under the Christmas tree a week early.

"We're going to go and check out the new club round the corner boss! You coming?" Mansfield asked, reaching for his jacket. "And you Molly!"

She shook her head, glancing at her watch. She was dead on her feet and desperately needed to go home and sleep. "Not tonight boys, I'm knackered. Maybe another time though."

"Me neither boys, I'd better get home. Have a good night and for gods sake don't do anything stupid okay?!"

"Yes boss!" They chorused, picking up their jackets and piling out of the door. Molly and Charles could still hear them laughing and shouting long after they'd disappeared down the street.

Molly followed Charles out into the street, relieved to see a couple of taxis parked just up the street. She might've walked there but there wasn't a chance in hell she was about to walk all the way back.

"So um… it was good to see you." She mumbled, suddenly feeling awkward.

"I'm glad you came." He said softly. "We should do it again, but maybe without two section?"

She laughed quietly. "I'd like that." The words came out before she even had a chance to think, but it was the truth. She was already looking forward to seeing him again.

"Where are you going back to?" He asked.

"Oh not far, I'm literally right by the hospital." She told him.

"I'm going that way, jump in the taxi and I'll get them to drop you off on the way back to save you a walk." He said, taking her by the arm so she couldn't object and walking towards the taxi.

"Thanks." She smiled. "For everything."


	20. Chapter 20

"Oh Jesus Molly, look at the state of you!" Jess frowned as Molly emerged from resus what felt like a life time later, but she realised as she looked at the clock it had only been a couple of hours.

"What?" She frowned at she peeled off her gloves and tossed them into the bin before she started washing her hands.

"No offence but you look a bit of a mess!" Jess laughed. "And you're covered in god knows what."

"Perks of the job." Molly laughed, drying her hands. She glanced down at her scrubs, which were covered in a variety of different things. She definitely needed a shower. "I'll shower quickly and change before I see any more patients, don't worry."

"It's not the patient's I'm worried about!" Jess stepped back in front of her to block her path, reaching her hands out as though she was going to grab her and then quickly changing her mind. "That gorgeous man who keeps buying you coffee is waiting for you by the nurses station!"

"Charles?" Molly asked, trying to peer round the corner unsuccessfully. "What is he doing here?"

"I don't know I didn't interrogate him!" Jess laughed. "I just said I'd come and see how long you were going to be."

Molly looked down at her scrubs again. She wasn't going anywhere before she'd had a shower, and she'd be lucky to get ten minutes for that never mind actually sitting and having a coffee with Charles.

"You didn't tell me that you two were an item!" Jess was practically dancing with excitement as she grinned at Molly. "I've got so many questions, you're a dark horse Molly Dawes!"

"We aren't!" Molly shot back. "There's nothing to tell, I really don't know why he's here. Besides it's not like I'm going to be able to go and have lunch with him or whatever, it's way too busy in here." She'd only ended up on the day shift with Jess because half of the staff seemed to have caught norovirus and they were desperately short staffed.

Jess looked at her watch. "Everyone but you has had their lunch, no offence but the place won't fall down if you're not here for half an hour. And besides if we really need you I can bleep you and you'll come back!"

"But-"

"But nothing!" Jess laughed. "There's a gorgeous soldier standing there wanting to buy you lunch, I'll be damned if you're going to turn him down on my watch. Now go!" She pointed in the direction of the nurses station, the other hand on her hip and she ordered her.

"Yess boss!" Molly laughed with a mock salute, walking around the corner to find Charles

He was leaning against the nurses station, chatting to one of the junior doctors and didn't see her coming.

"Hi." She smiled as he turned to face her. "This is an nice surprise."

"I thought maybe you'd have time for lunch?" He asked. "I did try calling you but I didn't get an answer so I thought I'd just pop in. If you're busy though it's fine, I can come back another time or day."

"I'd love to." She smiled. "Can you just give me ten minutes to shower and get out of these scrubs?"

His eyes suddenly came to rest on the blood that soaked the front of her clothes. "Yeah that might be a good idea I think." He nodded.

"Great." She smiled, then turned to the other doctor who was still standing there, staring at Charles. "Sophie, can you keep an eye on my patient in resus for me? He should be going up to the ward in the next twenty minutes anyway, but if you need me bleep me?"

"Yeah of course, have fun you two!" Sophie grinned, and Molly knew she was going to be getting interrogated by the entire department when she came back.

She turned back to Charles who was also grinning at her like an idiot for some reason. She was starting to get a bit paranoid. Jess would've told her if she'd got something in her teeth wouldn't she? "Do you want to wait in the cafe in the main entrance? I won't be long!"

He nodded, following her as she headed for the exit to get to the showers. "Sounds good, do you want a sandwich or a coffee or anything?" He asked.

She nodded. "That would be amazing, just surprise me."

"Okay, see you in a few minutes." He smiled heading for the door as she disappeared into the locker room to find some clean clothes.

"That was quick!" He laughed as she slid into the chair opposite him ten minutes later in a clean pair of scrubs, her stethoscope hanging from her neck. "I've literally only just sat down, I just grabbed you a sandwich and a tea I hope that's okay?"

"It's perfect, thank you." She smiled. "It's a lot more than I normally get! This is a nice surprise too!"

"I almost didn't come, I didn't want you to feel like I was ambushing you or something." He suddenly looked uncertain.

"I'm glad you came." She smiled, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand before she picked up her cup of tea. "Although I'm sure you must have better things you could be doing with your day than drinking terrible overpriced hospital coffee with me."

He grinned. He felt like a bloody teenager again, just like he had sitting in the back of the taxi with her on the way back from their night out with two section. "I had a really good time the other night, I'm really glad you came. It was nice to have some adult company rather than just two section."

She sipped her tea, trying to stop herself laughing and choking on it. "Honestly I don't know how any of them ended up in the army they're walking disasters! I take it they all got home okay?"

He nodded. "None of them are AWOL as far as I know, so that's always a good sign!"

"They're all in one bit for now at least!" She laughed. "Thanks for the sandwich by the way I'm bloody starving!"

"Any time." He smiled.

"Don't say that, I might take you up on it and drag you down here every day to make sure I actually remember to have some lunch." She laughed.

"Well…" he paused as she took another huge bite out of the sandwich, like it was going to disappear any second. "I've actually just been and signed a lease on a house just down the road so I wouldn't have far to come."

"You don't think there's any chance that you and Rebecca might patch things up then?" She asked, mentally crossing her fingers hoping that he'd say no.

He shook his head, sipping at his coffee. "Our marriage has been over for a long, long time. We've both known it, just neither of us was quite ready to accept it and do anything about it. We were staying together for Sam's sake, and to be honest with me not being there a lot of the time it was easier, but we are making each other- and more importantly Sam- miserably and we need to do something about it. It's not fair on any of us."

"Charles, I'm so sorry." She smiled sympathetically.

He shrugged. "There's nothing to be sorry for, is it bad that after all these years I'm just relieved it's finally over?"

"No, not at all." She smiled. "You're allowed to want to be happy, and Sam will understand. He might not now, but when he's a bit older he will. Honestly I always wished my mum had realised she was too good for my dad and left him. She could've done so much more with her life if she'd just admitted she wasn't happy. But here they are, god knows how many years later and she's still there picking up behind him."

"I hadn't really thought about it like that. You're very good at this, very wise." He laughed.

"That's me, the wise old doctor." She winked. "So when are you moving into this new place?"

"By the end of the week hopefully." He said. "I desperately need to go and get some furniture and I just can't be bothered. Rebecca always did this stuff!"

"I have the day off tomorrow, I could come and help you?" She offered.

"It's a date!" He answered a little bit too quickly. "Sorry I didn't mean it like that you don't have to-" he started trying to back track. Why was he such an idiot around her?

"Actually." She returned his grin. "I'd really quite like that."

He didn't get a chance to answer her, the piercing sound of her bleep cutting them off.

"Oh shit." She jumped up from the table, leaving half her sandwich and tea behind. "I've got to go, I'm so sorry. Text me later though?" She felt awful leaving after he'd made the effort to come and see her, but she was working and her patient needed her.

"Yeah of course, you go. I'll talk to you later." He agreed. He was disappointed she had to go so soon, but it was her job and something that he would need to get used to.

Impulsively she leant down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then she was gone, running back in the direction she'd come from earlier to see what was happening with her patient.


	21. Chapter 21

"I'm going to be honest here and admit I didn't have you down as an Ikea kind of guy." She'd had to try and hide her shock when he'd picked her up that morning and told her where they were headed, not that she had done a very good job at all.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, holding the door open for her as they followed the crowds of people heading inside. He was having second thoughts already- if there was something he hated more than furniture shopping then it would be furniture shopping in a busy Ikea.

She shrugged, her cheeks turning pink. "I don't know, I just couldn't picture you shopping here that's all." She guessed it was probably difficult to imagine him in the same shop that Belinda and Dave went to. "I thought you'd be all interior designers and fancy shit."

He laughed, grabbing her elbow and steering her in the direction of the stairs. "Well, I hate to disappoint but I'm in the army I'm not a lottery winner. And besides I've already got an interior designer."

"Well what the bloody hell are you dragging me in here for if you've already got some fancy interior designer lined up?" She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit upset that their day out might be over.

He laughed. "I was talking about you! I haven't got a bloody clue how to do this, Rebecca wouldn't even let me put the Christmas decorations up incase I did it wrong never mind decorate a whole bloody house!"

She felt the relief flood through her. "Well, luckily for you I'm pretty good at these things." She laughed.

"Well, I'm hoping if I have some half decent furniture then you might come and visit me a bit more often?" He held his breath as he waited for her reaction, wondering if he'd crossed the line. He still had no idea where he stood with her at all. It was really rather unnerving.

"Oh really?" She winked, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. "Well, I guess we'll just have to see about that won't we."

What felt like a lifetime later, but was actually only a couple of hours, he dragged her into the restaurant for a much needed cup of coffee before they went to pay for everything she seemed to have managed to put in the trolley while he wasn't looking.

"I'd forgotten how stressful all of this is!" He sighed, flopping down heavily in the chair.

"You've still got to build it all when we get back!" She laughed.

"Are you not going to help me?!" He frowned.

She laughed quietly. "I did a surgery rotation, but they don't teach you how to build Ikea furniture at medical school!"

"Well we can learn together then because the army hasn't taught me to build flat pack furniture either!"

"Well, you'd better be buying me dinner or something in return for this because I have got a full day of work tomorrow and I've now got to spend the rest of my day building your furniture for you!" She winked.

"I think I can manage that! I just need to actually have some furniture, sleeping on the floor is killing my back!" He sighed.

"Well…. in my professional medical opinion that's because you're an old man!" She joked.

"The cheek! I buy you a cup of tea and this is how you repay me!" He pretended to be offended. It she could see he was trying not to laugh.

She shrugged, sipping at her tea. "If you can't handle the truth mate!"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Believe me my mother keeps reminding me that I'm 'getting on' these days. I don't need you doing it too! I think she's worried now that me and Rebecca are over I'm going to turn into some kind of weird recluse. I don't think she actually believed me when I said you were coming shopping with me."

"Well, how do you know that I'm not just a figment of your sad and lonely imagination?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughed. "I really, really hope not!"

She drained the last of her tea. "Come on then old man, we'd better go get all of this stuff and get back so you can build it!"

He groaned, but drained the last of his coffee and trailed after her as she walked off to retrieve the trolley, which somehow now looked to have more stuff in it than it had when they'd stopped for a drink.

"Are you sure you can't be persuaded to build it all for me?" He asked.

She shook her head, laughing. "Oh I'm sure, but I'm looking forward to watching you try!"

A couple of hours later they eventually found themselves back at his new home, collapsed on the sofa after the effort of carrying everything they'd bought out of the car. There'd been a horrifying moment in the car park where he'd been convinced they weren't going to get it all in the boot, but somehow they had managed it- and now his living room was full of boxes of flat pack furniture that he was going to have to build at some point.

"Thanks again, for helping with all this." He said, propping his feet up on one of the boxes that they'd left in the middle of the room. "I think I would've lost the will to live a long time ago on my own!"

"I would say any time but if I'm being honest I don't want to do that again any time soon." She laughed. "I still need to go and get my a load of stuff for my own place to make it look like I actually live there, not that I am ever really there anyway, but I might need some time before I can face Ikea again!"

"Maybe next time I'll return the favour?" He joked.

"Before that, I think I was promised dinner!" She suggested, forcing herself up off the sofa. "So how about you hand me that toolkit and I'll start building this table while you go and order me some food?"

"Yes ma'am!" He jumped up with a mock salute and a grin on his face, watching from the doorway for a second as she ripped into the box of the coffee table she'd picked out for him and frowned at the instructions.


	22. Chapter 22

"You are weirdly good at building furniture." He commented, sitting down next to her and handing her a drink. He grabbed himself a slice of pizza from the box that was sitting on the newly constructed coffee table.

"It's one of my many talents." She joked. "If I could've made a career out of it maybe I wouldn't have ended up being a doctor!"

He laughed. "You'll have to let me take you out for a proper dinner at some point because this wasn't really what I had in mind to thank you from saving me today."

"I don't know I quite like a night on the sofa with a Pizza and beer…. but I wouldn't mind a night out either." She grinned. It was a weird effect he was having on her, she felt like a teenage girl again.

"I'll take you somewhere nicer than my sofa, I promise." He smiles, finishing his slice of pizza. "And without two section in tow either!"

"They're a lovely group of lads, but I do feel like they might ruin a moment a bit." She laughed. "I'll hold you to that promise."

She was still fairly sure that this was a dream, or that if she was awake this had to be some kind of practical joke someone was playing on her because things like this just didn't happen to her. The idea of someone like him being interested in her, even if she had managed to escape her parents and get a decent job, seemed absolutely insane.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. "You've gone all quiet on me."

"Work tomorrow, sorry." It was a half lie. She'd been trying to work out if her shift would line up with Jess so that she could get some much needed advice about this whole situation. She needed someone to talk some sense into her.

"What time do you start?" He asked.

"Eight." She struggled to suppress a yawn. She was exhausted, and really she should be headed home to bed ready for a full on day at work tomorrow, but stupidly she wasn't ready for her day with him to be over. It felt like if she left, the little bubble they were in- where she didn't have to worry about anything and his wife didn't exist- would be shattered and things might be different somehow.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I have a full day of PT training with two section to get through tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret all this pizza in the morning when I'm running for miles in full kit." He groaned. It always seemed like a good idea, until the moment they were actually doing it.

She laughed. "I think I'll take another day of broken bones and vomit over that thanks. Running has never really been my thing!"

"Good call." He agreed. "How are you finding it, working here?" He asked.

"Well… it's about as different from being in Kenya as you can get." She said slowly, trying to think it through in her head. It was difficult to make a comparison, especially given that all she could think of when she thought of the clinic at the refugee camp was being dragged out of there and being convinced she was about to die. "I can't quite get used to actually having supplies and not having to worry about rationing them incase the next shipment doesn't arrive, and having nurses to help. I think they thought I was insane when I first started."

He laughed and she forced herself to join in. She wasn't really joking though if she was honest. She hadn't been in her right mind at all when she started there- she'd just needed something to do to try and stop her brain tormenting her with the nightmares and memories of Kenya and everything that had happened. She'd been walking around like a zombie those first couple of shifts, seeing things that weren't there, and it had terrified her that she was going to make a mistake because her head wasn't in it but she hadn't felt like she could tell anyone either. It wasn't something she ever wanted to experience again.

"So, I don't think I ever actually got to ask- why emergency medicine?" He asked after a brief pause. It was selfish, she'd got a long day at work tomorrow and should probably be going home, but he was trying to keep her talking so she wouldn't leave just yet. "There must've been some other… I don't know, easier options?"

She took a sip of her drink. "If we're being honest I quite enjoy the chaos of it all. I like being busy and not knowing what's coming next. I think I would've been a bit bored doing something else. I get to do such a variety of things, I love it."

He could tell from the way her eyes lit up as she talked about it that she really did love what she did- he knew because it was the way Rebecca had always said he looked when he spoke about the army, and she'd always complained that he never looked at her like that. Looking back on it that was probably a sign that he shouldn't have ignored.

"If it's chaos you want then maybe I should see if we can get you attached to two section- those boys need their own doctor they're a bloody disaster the lot of them. I'm not quite sure what we'll do without Lane." He muttered.

"Georgie's leaving?" Molly asked, spurning surprised. She couldn't really imagine Georgie doing anything other than being in the army, even in the short time she had known her it had been clear to see she loved her job.

He nodded. "Did She tell you she was getting married? He's a doctor too. Planning to settle down apparently, I don't think he was too keen on the idea of her disappearing off on tour. She must really like him if she's willing to give the Army up for him I guess."

"That's a shame, I bet you'll miss her?" Molly asked.

He nodded. "I think she might've actually saved my sanity on that last tour, but she says it's what she wants so I'm happy for her. It's nice to see her so happy after everything that happened with Elvis. Jamie seems like a decent guy anyway, I don't think he'll be making me go and dump her at the altar on his behalf." He cringed. He didn't think he'd ever forgive Elvis for making him do that.

"I'm happy for her, she deserves to be happy." Molly smiled.

"I've actually been meaning to ask you, I don't suppose you'd maybe like to come to the wedding with me?" He was hesitant, bracing himself for the rejection.

"Did you just ask me to be your plus one Captain James?" She smirked.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, it was just a thought." He mumbled. Maybe he'd gone a step too far.

"I'll have to check that I can get the day off work, and find something to wear, but I'd love to." She smiled.

"Really?" He sounded so surprised she almost laughed.

"Really." She nodded. "But I am going to have to go now so I can get some sleep or there's no way I'm going to be a functional human tomorrow never mind a good doctor."

He nodded. "We can't have that can we? And you've got to have the energy to help me with the rest of my furniture at some point!" He joked.

She stood up off the sofa, rolling her eyes at him. "Is that all

I'm good for, building furniture?" She laughed.

"No." He smiled. "But it is a pretty useful skill. Thanks again for today though, really."

She paused at the front door, pulling her jacket on and turning around to face him. "Does it sound weird if I say I enjoyed it?" She laughed. "The spending time with you part not the furniture I mean."

He laughed quietly. "No, I did too."

She felt her stomach twisting in knots with nerves but she decided to seize the moment, and closed the small gap between them. She hesitated for a second, her lips a few inches from him, waiting and giving him a chance to pull away if he wanted too. Much to her relief he didn't, and instead pulled her closer to him, his arms around her as he kissed her like he'd been wanting to do for weeks.

When they eventually pulled apart she stood for a moment, his arms still around her waist, not wanting to leave.

"I need to go." She said, making no attempt to move.

"I know." He replied, still not letting go of her. "I'll talk to you tomorrow though? When you find out about the wedding?" He sounded hopeful, like there was a little bit of doubt left in him that she might not call.

"I will, I promise." She smiled, stretching up to give him another quick kiss before she pulled away from him, otherwise she was going to still be there in an hours time and she really did need to go home.

"Speak to you tomorrow then." He smiled, opening the door to let her out.

She stepped out into the street, nodding. "Enjoy your PT session." She smirked. "Say hi to everyone from me."

"Thanks for reminding me." He groaned.

"You're welcome." She laughed. "See you later." She called back over her shoulder as she walked off up the road.

He stood for a moment, watching her as she disappeared up the street, before he shut the door with the smile still on his face.


	23. Chapter 23

"You kept that quiet!" Jess all but shrieked as they stood at the nurses station together the next morning. "Has it really been that long since we last worked together? I miss out on all this gossip!"

Molly laughed, sipping at her cup of tea. By some miracle, her prayers had been answered and they were almost fully staffed and so far it was a quiet morning, which had given her then minutes to talk to Jess while she filled out some paperwork.

"Sorry." She laughed. "I wasn't really sure if Ikea really counted as a date anyway? I didn't want to get you all excited for no reason!"

"I think anywhere you go with that man is a date, I mean look at him!" Jess laughed. "Is this the point where you tell me he's got an equally attractive brother who wants to meet me? Because if you are then let me tell you I'm more than okay with it."

Molly laughed, pausing for a second to read something on the form she was filling in. "No, but I do need you help." She said slowly.

Jess's face lit up even more, if that was even possible. "Finally, a good use for my skills around here! Come on then, tell me everything!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but it's actually the rota's that I wanted your help with." She watched the disappointment on Jess's face when she realised she wasn't about to get any gossip. "He's asked me to go to a wedding with him on Saturday but I'm supposed to be working. I don't really know anyone around here still, I was wondering if you had any ideas for someone who might want to swap with me so I can go? I really don't want to have to say no to him!"

"Molly, you are going to that wedding with him, I'm not letting you bail on that man on my watch. If my own love life is going to go down the toilet then I can at least live through you, but you have to promise to tell me everything after!" Jess was already on the computer pulling up the rota to find a solution to her problem. "Right, let's have a look…. You could ask Paul, he would probably do it for you… oh, but if you were going to swap with him you'd have to work on the Friday night."

"Oh." Molly's face fell. "Well, I suppose I'd be finished by eight wouldn't I. I'd just have to get ready here and then maybe I could sleep in the car while Charles is driving. The wedding is in Manchester, I'll have to ring Charles and see if he thinks that will leave us enough time to get there I guess." She felt a bit deflated at the thought that she might not be able to go with him, even though he'd only invited her the night before she'd spent all night laying in bed looking forward to it.

"Go! Do that right now!" Jess was already shooing her outside. "I can cover for you for five minutes, come on get moving! I need to know if we need to start trying to find you a dress! I'm going to go and find Paul and explain to him why he has to swap with you! "

"Okay! Okay! I'm going!" Molly laughed, heading for the exit. "I'll be back in five minutes."

She felt a strange twinge of nerves in her stomach as she ducked out of the exit and around the corner to give herself five minutes of peace to call Charles. What if he'd changed his mind and decided he didn't actually want her to go with him now?

She hit the call button, and the phone seemed to ring for a long time and she was surprised when he actually answered it. She'd been getting ready to leave him a voice mail.

"Hi." He grinned into the phone, trying to catch his breath. He'd just been on a run in full kit, and as he'd expected he was regretting the decision to have pizza last night, although looking around at two section they'd had more than just pizza last night and were in a much worse state than he was. "How's your day going?" He asked, taking a few steps away from the rest of the boys so they wouldn't start listening in, although from the grin on Georgie's face she already knew who he was talking too.

"It's okay, surprisingly quiet for a change actually, although now I've said that all hell will probably break loose." She laughed. "What about you? Enjoying your fitness training?"

"Oh yeah, loving it." He joked. "We're just finishing up now, I think we're all knackered. Better hope we don't get deployed again anytime soon looking at the state of everyone. Have you had any luck getting out of work on Saturday?" He asked.

"Possibly, but the only way I'm really going to be able to do it is to work the Friday night. I'd be finished at eight on the Saturday morning and then I could get ready here, I didn't know if that would leave enough time to get there if you picked me up from here about nine?" She asked.

"Are you sure you really want to work all night and then come to a wedding, you can say no if you want too I won't mind." He was already bracing himself for the disappointment.

"I'm sure, I really want to come with you, if Georgie doesn't mind of course, I just don't want you to miss anything because of me." She held her breath waiting for an answer.

He did the calculations in his head, trying to work out how long it would then take them to get to Manchester. "I think it should be okay, it doesn't start until one anyway so that'll still give us a little bit of time spare if the traffic is bad or anything. Of course Georgie doesn't mind, I think she was almost as happy when I said you were coming with me as she was when Jamie proposed." He joked.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay great, well I'd better just go and check with Paul that he is actually okay to swap with me and that Jess hasn't threatened him to make him do it I guess." She laughed. "Maybe I'll see you later?"

"I'll text you when I'm on my way back and we'll sort something out." He smiled. That gave him the motivation to get through the rest of the day at least. "I'd better go, see you later then."

"Yeah, see you later." She smiled, hanging up the phone and rushing back inside to find out if she could actually swap her shift.

"So?" Jess was in front of her the second she stepped back through the doors.

Molly nodded. "If I can get Paul to swap with me then I can go!" She was trying to contain her excitement just incase Jess was about to tell her he'd said no.

"Well, luckily for you Paul already owes me a favour, so you are going to that wedding! Now, we just need to talk about what you're going to wear!"

"Oh bloody hell, I can't even think about that. I'm going to have to buy something unless scrubs are now acceptable to wear?" She laughed.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Do I have to do everything around here? I've got a patient I need you to see, but we'll talk dresses after! Is it bad that I'm this excited for you?" She laughed.

Molly smiled. "I knew I could rely on you to sort me out, now what've you got for me?"

Jess turned and ushered her into a cubicle where she spent the next half an hour putting stitches in to a woman's hand who'd managed to cut herself while gardening. By the time she'd finished things had started to get a bit busier and she had a few patients waiting to see her.

"Is there any chance of you getting to come on your lunch with me so we can look at dresses?" Jess asked as she went to find out how her next patient.

Molly shook her head. "I'm not going to be having my lunch for a few hours by the looks of it." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her card, handing it to Jess. "Here, I'm trusting you on this one because I'm pretty sure that you'll pick something a lot better than I would. I'm a size 10, and please don't bankrupt me okay?"

Jess squealed in delight, taking the card from her and heading in the direction of the staff room. "You're not going to regret this Molly!" She called back over her shoulder.

"I hope not." Molly muttered, picking up the details for her next patient and heading back the way she came.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Dawes sorry to keep you waiting." She smiled, pulling back the curtain. The man sat on the bed didn't return her smile. He looked familiar, she couldn't quite put her finger on it- maybe she'd treated him before, but she certainly didn't recognise him as one of their frequent fliers. She pulled a pair of gloves on. "Can you tell me what happened?" She asked, gesturing to his arm- the sleeve was rolled up exposing a burned area on his forearm.

"I don't know." He mumbled refusing to look at her.

She bent down to look closer, to confirm it was what she thought it was before straightening up again. "These look like chemical burns." She frowned, there was something he didn't want to tell her about how he'd got these injuries. She decided again. "Are you sure you can't remember how you got them?"

He shook his head.

"Okay." She said slowly, peeling her gloves off. "I'm just going to go and get a few things and then we'll have a proper look at that for you, just wait here for me." She went back out of the cubicle, closing the curtains behind her.

She'd intended to go and get one of the other doctors to have a look, and to look and see if she had treated him before, but as she'd stepped out someone had collapsed on the floor in the waiting room and she'd been caught up with that. It was the best part of an hour later by the time she got back to him, and she hadn't been able to find anyone to ask either.

It turned out she needn't have worried, she pulled back the curtain to find her patient had disappeared- the receptionists said they thought they'd seen him leaving about five minutes after she'd left him. Something didn't feel right about it, but she didn't have a chance to dwell on it since they were busy and before she knew it her shift was over and she was headed home again.


	24. Chapter 24

"I thought that night was never going to end." Molly grumbled, heading for the staff room with Jess at the end of a particularly gruelling Friday night shift. Paul was probably going to be thanking his lucky stars she'd asked to swap with him when he heard. It hadn't even been a difficult night in terms of how busy they were, it had just seemed like every patient they had was drunk and wanted a fight. She was exhausted and desperately wanted to go home and crawl into her bed for at least a week, but the whole reason she'd suffered through that night in the first place was so she could go to the wedding with Charles and she wasn't about to give up now, she just might need a couple of large coffees on the way there so she didn't fall asleep during the ceremony.

"Come on you, move it!" Jess ordered as they got to their lockers. "Showers, now! I'll get your dress ready!"

Reluctantly she grabbed her stuff out of her locker and made a beeline for the showers. As if she wasn't anxious about this enough, her dress had only arrived that afternoon and Jess hadn't even had a chance to show it to her, never mind let her try it on. She really hoped it was going to be okay because she hadn't got any other options other than the jeans she'd worn to work the night before. Jess had better have come through for her. Although her friend was weirdly invested in her relationship with Charles so she doubted she'd too anything too crazy.

It was a struggle to drag herself out of the warmth of the shower, a whole new wave of tiredness had hit her like a train as she stood in there. She hoped Charles wasn't expecting her to stay awake and make conversation on the way to Manchester because she'd be lucky to make it out of the hospital car park before she fell asleep.

Jess had transformed the changing room into some kind of beauty parlour while she'd been in the shower, and the second Molly stepped out of the shower she'd shoved her down into a chair and started blow drying her hair in to submission while Molly closed her eyes and allowed herself a five minute snooze.

"Sorry Molly but you're going to have to wake up now!" Jess shook her, grinning at her own handiwork.

"Were you a hairdresser in a former life or something?" Molly asked, catching sight of her reflection in the mirror. While she'd been sitting there half asleep Jess had managed to curl her hair perfectly, she twirled a strand between her fingers. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually got dressed up and gone out. She felt a twinge of anxiety in her stomach again.

Jess laughed. "Something like that. Now up you get, dress on!" She ordered, holding out the dress she'd ordered for her.

Molly had been apprehensive at first, but she had to hand it to Jess, the woman had a talent apparently. It wasn't a dress she would've picked herself, it was strapless and pale blue with a floral pattern, but once she'd actually put it on it fitted perfectly. She almost didn't recognise herself in the mirror. She was smiling to herself in the mirror wondering what Charles was going to say as she sat down to do her make up.

"Not bad, you scrub up alright." Jess joked when she was finally done, five minutes before Charles was due to be picking her up. "Now you just need these." She handed her a pair of heels which matched the dress and a small black clutch bag. "The bag is mine, I know you told me not to bankrupt you but I had to order the shoes to match, they weren't even that expensive I promise." Jess babbled as Molly put the shoes on.

"Jess, it's fine, really." She laughed, straightening up and smoothing her dress. "You've been amazing, really. If it hadn't been for you I'd be at home in my pyjamas by now."

"Like I'd ever let that happen!" Jess laughed. "Now go, you can't keep that gorgeous man waiting!" She gave Molly a quick hug before pushing her in the direction of the door.

"I'm going!" Molly laughed, opening the door and praying she could still walk in heels, it had been a while.

Her face went scarlet the second she stepped out of the door- Paul wolf whistled the second he saw her, causing half of the department to turn around and stare at her.

"Bloody hell Dawes, look at you!" He grinned. "Enjoy the hot date, I'll be here holding the fort!"

She grinned back at him. "Cheers Paul, I owe you one." Jess was shoving her towards the door again so she didn't get a chance to hear what he said in reply.

As they stepped out into the waiting area she spotted Charles, looking very out of place in uniform as he waited for her. His face lit up as he saw her coming towards him.

"When you get back you are going to tell me where you found him and how I get my own." Jess hissed in her ear. "Now, go and enjoy yourself! I'm going home to bed!"

"Thanks Jess!" Molly grinned, walking over to where Charles was waiting.

"You look amazing." He smiled, holding his arm out which she gladly took and taking her overnight bag from her. Jess might've overestimated her ability to walk in heels.

"Thank you." She felt like she was grinning like a mad woman as she walked out into the car park with him. "I didn't keep you waiting did I?"

He shook his head. "No, perfect timing I've literally just got here."

"I'm going to warn you now I might not be very good company." She told him as they climbed into the car. "We had a hell of a night, I'm exhausted."

"I'm amazed you're actually still awake." He laughed as he headed for the exit of the car park. "Honestly get as much sleep as you can on the way there because it's a free bar and two section are all going so it's probably going to be a full on evening!"

She laughed, stifling a yawn. "Copy that." She rested her head against the window, trying to keep her eyes open.

He smiled to himself as she started snoring not even a minute later.

True to her word she'd slept the entire way to Manchester. He'd eventually had to wake her up after a couple of minutes in the car park at the church.

"Oh god did I really sleep all the way here, I'm so sorry." She fought the urge to rub her eyes so she wouldn't smear her makeup all over her face.

"It's fine, really." He smiled. "You don't have to keep apologising you have been up all night!"

"Oh I know, I feel like it too." She grumbled. "What time is it?"

"We've got plenty of time, there was hardly any traffic." He said. There was a few people starting to gather and then he spotted two section standing around chatting. "Come on, let's go and see what them lot are up too." He climbed out of the car.

Molly followed, trying to shake the feeling of tiredness off. "Good idea because if we sit here any longer I'm going to fall asleep again." She laughed, her hand on his arm again as they walked over to two section. She could appreciate what Jess had been thinking with the shoes- they were lovely- but the ground was very uneven and if she wasn't hanging on to Charles she would probably have ended up on the floor which she was sure two section would've found hilarious.

There was a chorus of greetings and she found herself being passed around all the boys and hugged as they stood and chatted.

"Right I'm going to say this once." Charles was suddenly serious, looking at the lads in front of him. "I know you're not at work today and you're all here for Lane, but please try not to do anything too stupid because if I find out, and you know I will, believe me you'll regret it. Understood?"

"Yes boss." Came the chorus of replies, and Molly had to fight back a smile. Charles on the other hand didn't seem to have heard them as he focused on a figure the other side of the churchyard.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." He muttered, shaking his head. He strode off in that direction, grabbing Molly's hand and pulling her along with him.

Molly wondered what had happened for a moment, Charles was clearly furious, then as Elvis came in to view it all became clear. As they reached him Charles dropped her hand and grabbed Elvis by the arm instead, hauling him round the corner and out of view of the increasing number of guests that were gathering.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He hissed. "You're not going to screw this up for her Elvis, you had your chance and you fucked it up. You don't get to do this to her again!"

"She's making a mistake!" Elvis protested, pulling his arm free from the vice like grip Charles had on him. "He's making her leave the army and give up everything! She's going to regret it!"

"You don't get to make that decision for her!" Charles snapped. "I bloody knew you'd go and pull some stupid stunt like this!"

"It's not a stunt! I love her!" He shot back.

Charles shook his head, taking a couple of steps back. Molly couldn't quite work out from the look on his face if he was about to punch Elvis or walk away.

She took a step closer so she was in between them. "Look, Elvis. You shouldn't be here."

"She's making the wrong decision. She's going to regret it." He was much quieter, his voice always pleading. "I can't let her do this."

"It might be the wrong decision, or it might not. The point is it's her decision to make Elvis." She glanced at Charles out of the corner of her eye. "She's not going to thank you for doing this, especially not here and like this. You need to leave."

"Oh shit." She spun around at the sound of Charles's voice and spotted someone marching towards them, who she guessed was probably Jamie.

"I told you to stay away! What part of that do you not understand? You need to leave!" Jamie shouted.

Charles had stepped forward to stand beside Molly, putting himself between Elvis and Jamie. The last thing they needed was Georgie turning up to find the two of them having some kind of brawl outside the church.

"He's going, aren't you Elvis?" Molly grabbed Elvis by the arm and started to drag him back in the direction of the car park with the help of Charles. She glanced back over her shoulder just in time to see Jamie going into the church, shaking his head.

Charles swore again as they got halfway down the path. Molly and Elvis both spotting Georgie and her Dad arriving at the same time. Elvis stopped dead, waiting for her, and there was nothing they could do but stand and watch as Georgie marched over to him. Charles put a hand on Molly arm and pulled her back a couple of steps with him.

"Unlike you to turn up on my wedding day!" Georgie said sarcastically. "What are you doing here Elvis?"

"I came to talk to you. You're making a mistake Georgie." Elvis pleaded.

Molly shifted awkwardly next to Charles, she felt like she was intruding on something private, but the look Charles gave her as he put his arm around her waist said that he didn't trust Elvis enough to leave him alone either.

Eventually it had turned into less of an argument and more of a quiet conversation, Charles had given Georgie a look- silently asking if she was okay and she'd nodded in response. He used his arm which was still around Molly's waist to guide her in the direction of the church. "Come on, I think we can leave them too it." He whispered and they walked back in the direction they'd come to take their seats in the church.

"She's out there talking to him, isn't she?" Jamie asked as they ran into him in the doorway.

"I-" Charles was suddenly rendered speechless. What was he supposed to say?

"I'll take that as a yes then." Jamie sighed, stepping around them and out of the door.

"Should we-?" Molly asked, craning her neck around to see what was happening.

Charles shook his head, continuing in to the church to find their seats. "No, this is something they need to work out themselves. Elvis will ring if he needs us." He sat down beside Fingers and she took her place next to him.

"Everything alright out there boss?" Fingers whispered.

"I don't know." Charles admitted. They could just hear the sound of raised voices outside but it was impossible to make out who was actually doing the shouting or what they were saying.

They sat there for a while, the people in the rows around them had started whispering about what the hold up was. Molly was trying to stifle a yawn as a fresh wave of tiredness came over her as the adrenaline started to wear off. Charles shifted uncomfortably, he was getting an awful sense of deja vu.

They'd been sitting there for a good half an hour when Georgie's Dad came back in, catching Charles eye as he slowly made his way up to the front of the church. Charles felt his heart sink, he knew that look.

He was going to kill Elvis when he got his hands on him.

Everyone filed back out of the church in a stunned silence. Even two section couldn't manage to find a witty comment to make about the situation. There was no sign of Elvis, Georgie or Jamie outside the church. Charles checked his phone, no messages either.

"Well…" Fingers said slowly. "I guess we'll be off then?" He looked around at the rest of the lads. Molly heard someone suggesting a pub near by.

"It was good to see you all again." She smiled.

"You've got to come on another night out with us soon!" Mansfield grinned.

"Let me know." She laughed. She wasn't sure she'd survive another night out with them, but it would be fun anyway.

Fingers stepped forward and gave her another hug. "The Boss is one lucky man." He whispered in her ear, winking as he stepped back. Molly felt her cheeks flush but Charles didn't seem to have heard him.

"See you later then." He said, his arm snaking around her waist again as she leaned into him. "And whatever it is that you're all going to do please don't do anything to stupid. I don't want to be getting any phone calls about you all."

"See you later boss, have a good night." Brains called after them as they walked back down to the car park. They could both hear all the other lads laughing at something he's said as they walked away, he dreaded to think what it was.

"Well… that was…" Molly commented as they got back into the car.

Charles shrugged his uniform jacket off and laid it across the back seat. "Yeah, Sorry about that I didn't see it coming this time at all. Just you wait until I get hold of Elvis!"

She could only imagine how that was going to go. "So now what?" She was a little bit disappointed, and not just for Georgie, she'd been looking forward to spending the night with him.

"Well, we can't let that dress go to waste can we?" He grinned. "Let me have a look and find somewhere that I can buy you that nice dinner I promised you." He pulled out his phone and had a look online.

"Are you sure? Didn't you ought to go and find Elvis and-"

He cut her off. "Elvis is a big boy, he can look after himself. I've been looking forward to spending the day with you all week I'm not going to let him ruin our day too."

"Okay." She grinned, leaning across the car to kiss him gently. "Let's go then!"


	25. Chapter 25

"That was amazing." She smiled, as the waiter cleared their plates he reached across the table and took her hand. "Thank you."

"Well I did bring you all the way to Manchester for a wedding that didn't happen. I have to make it up to you somehow."

"It's not like you knew it was going to happen, you don't have to feel bad." She could see on his face he was feeling guilty.

"Well…" He said slowly, taking a sip of his drink. "I did have a bad feeling Elvis might try something. I probably should've done something to convince him not to."

Molly shrugged. "Maybe it's for the best? Besides we don't actually know what happened, it might not have been Elvis's fault."

Charles rolled his eyes. "One thing you'll learn is that nine times out of ten when Elvis is involved it's his fault." He joked. "He's a good friend, but I want to kill him at the same time."

Molly laughed, then desperately tried to stifle another yawn. "Noted."

"You look tired, we should get you back to the hotel for some sleep." He said, waving the waiter over to get the bill.

"I'm okay, really." She shook her head in protest. She was dead on her feet if she was being honest, but she wasn't quite ready for the day to be over either. It was only 4pm.

"You're allowed to admit you're tired, you did work the whole of last night." He reminded her as he handed the waiter his money. "Come on, I'm taking you to bed before you fall asleep at the table."

She couldn't keep the grin off her face as she stood up and took his hand he was holding out to her. "Did you just order me into bed?" She laughed.

His cheeks flushed red. "Sort of… I didn't mean it like that!" He laughed.

"I might've been a little bit keener to go if you had." She winked. "I can think of better things to do than sleep."

"I-" He grinned at her trying to find something to say, she struggled to fight off another yawn as they walked out to the car. "As much as I want to take you up on that, the only thing you're doing is going to sleep." He wasn't even sure how she was still standing and he knew no matter what he said the second she got into bed she'd be asleep in seconds.

He'd been right, by the time they got back to the hotel she could barely keep her eyes open and she had considered asking him to carry her up the stairs since she felt like she could barely walk she her as so tired, but she had eventually made it into the room behind him.

"See, I told you the only thing you were doing was going to sleep." He laughed as she flopped down on the bed.

"You might've been right." She admitted. "I'm so sorry, I thought I'd be able to keep myself awake!"

"Stop apologising, it's fine!" He laughed. "You've done well to make it this far, you can always sleep for a couple of hours and then we can go and have a drink or something later?"

"Okay." She agreed reluctantly, rummaging in her bag for her pyjamas. "What are you going to do though?"

"I can watch tv for a bit." He pointed to the screen up on the wall. "I'm going to try and get hold of Elvis as well and make sure he's okay."

"Are you sure? I feel really bad." She realised mid sentence that Jess had been in her overnight bag at some point and replaced her normal comfortable pyjamas with something silky that didn't seem to have a lot to it.

"I'm sure, really." He was already closing the curtains and turning on the tv.

She took a deep breath and grabbed the pyjamas Jess had put in her bag and her phone and headed for the bathroom. Jess answered on the first ring.

"What the hell have you done with my pyjamas?" Molly hissed into the phone. She was standing in front of the mirror in the skimpy shorts and vest that Jess had packed her trying to work out if there was anyway she could actually get them to cover her.

Jess laughed. "You found them then? Trust me Molly I am doing you a favour. You can thank me later!"

"Jess! I can't do this!" Molly whispered into the phone. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Oh shh!" Jess dismissed her. "I've seen the way that man looks at you, he'll be thanking me even if you aren't right now- and trust me you will be later!"

"I can't believe you've done this to me." Molly sighed. She probably should've been expecting it.

"Wait why aren't you at the wedding?" Jess suddenly realised what the time was.

"Oh that is an even longer story than this." Molly told her.

"Well, you can explain that to me when you get back you've got better things to be doing. Now, stop hiding in the bathroom and get back to the gorgeous man who is waiting for you!" She ordered, hanging up the phone.

Molly took one last look in the mirror before walking back into the bedroom trying not to feel too self conscious. She knew what Jess was trying to do, but she wasn't quite sure she was ready for it. Either way she didn't have a lot of choice.

She had to hide a smile as she walked out of the bathroom and saw Charles's eyes widen for a second before he regained control over his face. Maybe Jess had been right after all.

He'd kicked off his shoes and laid down on one side of the bed, tv remote in his hand. She climbed in next to him, his arm winding around her as her head rested on his chest.

"You were right." She mumbled. "I don't think I've ever been this tired in my life."

He laughed quietly, kissing the top of her head. "Well stop talking to me and go to sleep then!"

"Yes sir…" she mumbled, already half asleep.

Seconds later she was asleep, snoring gently. He laid there for a second just watching her, then pulled his phone out to try Elvis again.

He eventually answered this time. "Elvis where have you been I've been trying to call you?" He whispered. He didn't dare try and move incase he woke Molly up so he was going to have to be quiet.

"Why are you whispering?" Elvis asked sounding confused.

"Molly is asleep she had to work last night. Now answer my question."

"I got your messages I just wasn't ready to hear the lecture all over again." Elvis sighed. "But go ahead."

"I'm not ringing to lecture you I'm ringing to make sure you're okay." Charles sighed. "Where are you?" He froze for a moment as Molly stirred slightly, rolling over so she was facing away from him and pulling the duvet up around her face.

"I'm going to go and find a pub. I need a beer." Elvis muttered. He sounded really defeated, and that worried Charles more than anything else. This Elvis wasn't something he was used to.

"Look why don't you come to the hotel we're staying at? I'll buy you a drink while Molly's sleeping and you can tell me what the hell happened?" Charles suggested.

Elvis was silent for a second. "Do you promise you're not going to lecture me because I really don't need it right now."

"Promise." Charles agreed, looking around the room for something to leave Molly a note.

"Okay. I'm only a few minutes away, I'll meet you in the bar." Elvis said, hanging up the phone.

Charles eventually managed to find a notepad to leave Molly a note in case she woke up before he got back, changed into his jeans and made it down to the bar when Elvis arrived. Neither of them said anything as he ordered them a beer each and they went and sat down at a table in the corner of the deserted bar.

"So?" Charles said eventually when Elvis still hadn't said anything after a couple of minutes.

"I'm sorry, I know I put you in an awkward position again." Elvis actually looked genuinely remorseful too. "I just couldn't stand the thought of her marrying him and giving up everything she's worked for just because he couldn't deal with the thought of her being in the army."

"There's a time and a place for these things Elvis and her wedding day was neither."

"That wasn't what I was trying to do, I wasn't trying to convince her to leave him or anything. I just wanted to talk to her. Then Jamie turned up and it all went wrong. I shouldn't have been there, I'm sorry. Not that she'll ever talk to me again to hear the apology." Elvis sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"What happened with Jamie?" Charles asked.

Elvis hesitated for a second. "I don't know exactly, I left before the end. He was arguing with Georgie, saying he couldn't be with her if she wasn't over me and that things would be better once she was out of the army and away from me. Georgie got upset saying she was only leaving the army because he'd forced her into it."

"Bloody hell." Charles muttered. "I'm not okay with what you did- you're a twat and you know it- but I don't think anyone can blame all of what happened on you. People don't just cancel a wedding because of what one person says. Maybe they weren't as happy as we all thought?"

"She's never going to forgive me is she?" Elvis asked.

For probably the first time since he'd known him Charles actually felt sorry for him. He looked devastated. "I'm sorry mate. I know you were trying to help but you did leave her at the altar at your wedding and then you did contribute to this one being cancelled. That's a lot for her to deal with and you couldn't exactly blame her if she never wanted to talk to you again."

"This really isn't how I pictured all of this ending up." Elvis sighed. "I thought we'd be like you and Rebecca."

Charles sipped at his beer, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah because that all worked out so well for me." He joked.

Elvis laughed. "Sorry mate I didn't think that through. How is the divorce going?"

"It's nearly sorted now." Charles said. "She's keeping the house and I've moved to a place near the hospital."

"That's convenient." Elvis winked. "How are things with you and Molly?"

"Good." Charles smiled. "Early days, but good."

"How is she after all that in Kenya? I thought maybe she'd call or something when she got back but she never did."

Charles pulled a face, trying to work out what to say so Elvis would understand him. "She's good- maybe a little too good if you know what I mean?"

"I'm not sure I do?"

"Well she just came back and went straight back to work as though nothing had happened. You know what happens to people with this sort of thing, you can't just bury your head in the sand and pretend it never happened. It catches up with you eventually. But she won't talk about it, if someone even mentions anything to do with it she changes the subject or if anything comes on the news she'll turn it off." He hadn't said anything to her for a while, she'd made it clear that she didn't want to talk about it right from the off but that didn't stop him worrying.

"Maybe she really is okay?" Elvis suggested. "I know what you're like you do tend to create a problem out of nothing. If she's happy then why not just leave her to it?"

"I can't believe you just crashed your ex's wedding and I'm the one sitting here taking advice from you." Charles laughed. "What has happened to me?"

"What's happened to both of us?" Elvis sighed. "Maybe I need to get back out on tour at least I'm good at that."

Charles hesitated for a moment again. He really wasn't sure how to deal with this Elvis. "Have you heard if you've got anything lined up?" He asked.

Elvis shook his head. "Nothing yet, but you know how it is. Wait and see what comes up."

"Whatever happens I'd steer well clear of Georgie for a while if you value your life." Charles joked.

"Yeah." Elvis winced. "Her Dad didn't like me before so god knows what he thinks of me now… I mean it though, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know." Charles agreed. "But you might just have to live with the fact that no one else is going to see it that way."

"Yeah." Elvis reluctantly agreed with him. He had wanted to call Georgie but he'd thought better of it. She was going to need some time before she'd be ready to talk to him. "Oh look here's Molly." He waved to her as she walked over to the table.

"How are you doing?" She asked, looking at him sympathetically as she slid into the seat beside Charles.

"I'm fine." Elvis forced himself to smile. "I'd better get going, I don't want to ruin your evening together."

"You don't have to do that." Molly said, but Charles was giving him a look from behind that was pleading with him to leave.

"No really I'm good." He smiled, draining the last of his beer. "Cheers for the drink Charlie, you two have a good night!" He winked before getting up and heading for the door before Molly could try and stop him.

"Are you sure he's okay because he doesn't look it?" She asked Charles.

"He'll be okay, he can look after himself." Charles smiled. "Anyway enough about Elvis, I'm surprised you're out of bed already?"

"Well…" She bit her lip. "You could always take me back to bed? I wouldn't object."


	26. Chapter 26

The way Jess had grabbed hold of her when she turned up for work on Tuesday could probably have been classed as an assault. It took Molly aback how someone so small could be quite so strong as she'd been dragged into a storage cupboard by her friend.

"Tell me everything, and quickly!" Jess demanded, rummaging around looking for something. "Please tell me your weekend was as amazing as I pictured it because I'm going to be so disappointed if not!"

Molly could feel the blush creeping into her cheeks at the memories of the weekend, admittedly it had seemed like a little bit of a disaster- after all the wedding had been in cancelled and then they'd spent most of the time in the hotel and she'd slept for quite a while much to her disappointment. Then again, neither of them had exactly been complaining at spending the weekend in bed either…. She fiddled with her stethoscope, trying to decide what she could tell Jess without her screaming.

"Well, the bride's ex who left her at the altar turned up and crashed the wedding which then got called off." She said slowly.

Jess turned to face her, her arms full of dressings. "You know that wasn't the part I was asking about!" She rolled her eyes. "I mean don't get me wrong, I need to know what happened there too, but first of all you're going to tell me about you and Charles!"

Molly looked down at the ground, trying to suppress her grin. "Let's just say he was very appreciative of your choice of pyjamas?" She suggested. She didn't add in the fact that it had taken her quite a while to actually find them when they'd gone to check out the next day after he'd thrown them across the room.

"I knew it!" Jess squealed in delight. "Does this mean you're not angry with me?"

"Oh I could've killed you at the time." Molly laughed, opening the door and following Jess out. "But it wasn't the worst thing that could've happened."

"I knew it!" Jess laughed. "Now you need to tell me exactly where you found him and how I get my own!"

Molly paused for a second, typing her login details into the computer. Every time Jess asked how she'd met Charles she'd dodged the question, not wanting to get into conversation about Kenya. "I met him in Kenya." She said slowly. "He was based at the camp I was working in for a little while." She figured that would probably be enough to keep Jess quiet for a little bit longer. She didn't need to go into detail about exactly how and why. She didn't think she'd ever be able to talk about it without feeling like she wanted to throw up, not even with Charles.

"Morning Paul." She smiled as he walked over to join them. "Thanks again for swapping the other day. How was last night?"

"You're welcome." He yawned. "It's been okay, not too busy. The lady in 3 is waiting to go up to the ward which shouldn't be long and I think that's about it really… oh and there was a guy in 6 with some kind of burns I think? He'd disappeared by the time I got round to him but no one knew where he'd gone so there's a chance he might turn up I guess."

"Do you know what his name was? What did he look like?" Molly asked. It couldn't be a coincidence.

Paul shook his head. "No sorry, is everything okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I had the same thing the other night. As soon as I started asking questions he left, I just wondered if it was the same guy."

Paul shrugged. "Well, if he shows up again you might find out I guess? But be careful, it all sounds a bit weird…. Now if you'll excuse me ladies, my bed is calling me! Enjoy!" He was halfway out of the door before he'd even finished his sentence.

Molly turned to Jess. "Can you do me a favour?" She asked. Jess nodded. "If that patient with the burns comes back come and get me straight away. Don't give him a chance to disappear again okay?"

"Yes boss." Jess smiled. "Is everything okay? Do you know him?"

Molly shook her head. "No, I'm just concerned that's all. There's obviously something going on but that's not really our problem is it- we just need to treat the injuries. Anyway, let's get started shall we?"

It was getting on for lunchtime by the time she stopped for a cup of tea. It hadn't been the most exciting of days, not that she was complaining about having time to stop and think for a change, but her mind kept wandering to Charles and what he was doing. She missed him- she was almost afraid to admit it. The weekend had been like a little bubble, just the two of them and real life hadn't seemed to exist. Then today she'd had to get up and go back to work, and he'd been up at the crack of dawn to go to work too and had said he wasn't sure what time he'd be back. It was starting to sink in that this was going to be the reality- they both worked long and unpredictable hours and they'd be lucky to get five minutes together at this rate.

As if he'd read her mind, her phone rang, his name lighting up the screen. "Did you read my mind, I was just thinking about you." She grinned, picking up her cup of tea and ducking into the staffroom for five minutes peace so she could talk to him.

"Oh really." He laughed. "Do I dare ask what you were thinking?" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Probably best not, you've still got a whole day at work to get through." She laughed.

"That's not fair, it's been a hell of a morning." He groaned.

"Well maybe I can make it better for you when you get home later?" She suggested. It didn't escape his notice that she'd just referred to his house as their home. She hadn't actually been back to her flat other than to pick up some clothes.

He groaned. "Actually Molly, about that…" He said reluctantly.

"I don't like the sound of this." She frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong exactly." His tone of voice said exactly the opposite.

"Spit it out Charles." She sighed.

"I might've sort of invited Elvis to come and stay for a little while." He admitted.

She was quiet for a moment. "Well, I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that. Why?"

"I didn't mean to it just sort of happened and then I couldn't really take it back could I?" He sighed. He'd been so looking forward to getting home to Molly, and then Elvis had called him.

"What do you mean it just happened?" She laughed. "It's fine, really."

"Oh I don't even know, he called me and he's still really all over the place about what happened with Georgie, it's really not like him and I suppose I'm a bit worried? So I sort of said he could come and stay for a couple of days. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologise, he's your friend!" She smiled. She wasn't overjoyed at the idea of finishing a long day of work and spending the evening with Elvis rather than just her and Charles, but Charles was obviously worried about him.

"Okay, now it's time for the other bad news then I guess." Charles said. "He's on his way to you now to get a key. I said maybe you'd have lunch with him?"

"Luckily for you, I owe that man for rescuing me and he is growing on me." She laughed. "But you definitely owe me one! What time is he coming?"

"You're a lifesaver." He sighed with relief. "Probably in a couple of hours?"

"Okay." She glanced at her watch. "I'd better get going then, I'll let you know how it goes!"

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later. Love you." He hung up the phone, then froze for a second, staring at his phone. Had he really just said that for the first time and then hung up the phone on her? Excellent.

"Molly, we need you!." Jess called, sticking her head around the door. "Are you okay, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Molly shoved her phone back in her pocket, still a little bit confused. Had he really said that or did she imagine it? "Um.. yeah. I'm coming." She mumbled. "Oh, there's someone called Elvis coming to see me. If he turns up can you just get him to wait for me?"

Jess nodded. "What kind of a name is Elvis anyway?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "Don't even get me started. Right where do you need me?"

"Okay, seriously tell me where you are finding these men?" Jess hissed. "If you say Kenya again then I'm going to need a bit more of an explanation!"

"Elvis is there then I take it?" Molly turned around to find Elvis stood just behind Jess. He'd probably heard what she'd said judging by the smirk on his face.

"There's my favourite Doctor." He joked, stepping forward to give her a hug. "Thanks for this, are you sure you don't mind though?"

She stepped back after a few seconds. "Are you trying to charm me into buying you lunch?" She laughed.

"I think I probably owe you lunch for having me to stay." He laughed.

"It's not even my house, you don't need to thank me."

"You know what I mean, you pretty much live there now. You might as well just bite the bullet and do it!" Elvis protested. "You know Charlie would love it if you did. He's almost cheerful now he's finally found someone, you should just get on with it, both of you!." He joked.

"I like him!" Jess chimed in, grinning at Elvis.

"Yeah okay, that's enough." Molly said quickly, grabbing Elvis by the arm and dragging him away. "The last thing I need is you two ganging up on me!"

Elvis laughed, following her. "Come on I'll buy you a coffee."

"I'll let you because I could really do with a cuppa, then you can take my key and go back to the house. I won't be too late back, I don't know about Charles though."

"Don't worry I promise not to trash your house." He laughed as she reluctantly handed over her key. "You don't need to look quite so worried."

"It's not me you should be worried about it's Charles." She grinned.

"Don't worry I can handle Charlie." He winked.

"Speak of the devil." She pointed at her phone, taking a couple of steps away from Elvis to answer.

"Hey, Elvis has just got here." She told him, she assumed that was why he was phoning.

"Oh okay." He sounded preoccupied.

"Is everything okay?" She frowned.

"I'm on my way back now, I'll explain when I get back. What time will you be finished?" He asked.

She glanced at the clock. "A couple of hours, I can see if I can get out a bit early." She said. "What's happened? Is everything okay?" He was worrying her.

"It's okay, everything's fine. We can talk about it when I get back." He tried to sound a bit less stressed, he wasn't sure if he'd succeeded though. "I'll see you in a couple of hours okay?"

"Okay." She agreed reluctantly.

"Everything okay?" Elvis asked as she hung up the phone.

"Yeah, I think so." She sighed. "Has he said anything to you? He sounded really stressed."

"I wouldn't worry about it, one of two section done something stupid again I expect!" Elvis brushed her concerns off, dragging her into the cafe with him.

She actually left work bang on time for once, and rushed back to the house which thankfully only took her five minutes. She'd never been so glad of how close Charles lived to the hospital. When she got in Elvis was nowhere to be seen and Charles was pacing back and forth in the kitchen.

"You carry on like that you're going to wear a hole in the floor." She made an attempt at a joke. From the way his head snapped up at the sound of her voice she wondered if he'd even heard her come in. "What's wrong?" She asked nervously, not knowing if she really wanted to hear the answer.

He ran his fingers through his hair, a frown etched onto his forehead. She didn't think she'd seen him look so stressed.

"If this about what you said on the phone earlier-" She started.

He shook his head and cut her off. "Have you seen the news today?" He asked, and she shook her head. "There's been a huge earthquake in Nepal."

"Okay?" She said slowly, confused. She hadn't been expecting that.

"I'm being deployed Molly, with two section. Disaster relief."

And there it was. She felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her. "When?" She asked. She'd known in the back of her mind that this was always going to happen eventually. It was his job, but she'd been in their own little bubble and it hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Tomorrow." Usually he'd be looking forward to going, another challenge and the chance to actually get out and do his job, but this time it was different. What he had with Molly was still so new, he was worried about what this was going to do to their relationship.

"For how long?" She asked, biting down on her bottom lip as it quivered.

He took a couple of steps across the kitchen to close the distance between them, pulling her into his arms. "I don't know." He admitted. "I don't think it'll be too long but I can't be sure."

She buried her head in his chest, breathing him in while she still could.

"Say something." He pleaded. He'd been worrying all afternoon about how she was going to take the news.

She pulled back a little so she could look at him,trying to pretend she wasn't holding back tears. She didn't even know how she was feeling, let alone how to explain it to him. She'd finally started to get things back on track after Kenya, and that a lot of that was down to the fact Charles had finally made her feel safe.

"I wish I didn't have to go-" He started, needing to say something to fill the silence. He was worried about just how quiet she was- he didn't know how he'd expected her to react but this wasn't it.

She cut him off, reaching her hand up to run it over the stubble that was just starting to form on his face. "Don't be silly, it's your job and you love it. You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine." She wondered if she sounded convincing, it certainly didn't to her own ears. She was already mentally forming a plan in her head, ways to keep herself busy while he was gone so she didn't have too much time to think.

"Elvis said he'd drop me off tomorrow, I didn't know if you'd want to come or not?" He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to be saying or not. The problem was they hadn't got a lot of time before he had to go, so she was going to have to adjust to the idea quickly.

"Can I still stay here?" She asked, her voice thick with the emotion she was trying to hold back.

He almost laughed at how ridiculous the question seemed, but he knew she was serious. "Of Course you can, I'd don't want you to go back to that flat on your own again!"

"Is this your way of asking me to move in?" She asked, her mind going back to his words on the phone earlier that day. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Does it still count if I'm not actually going to be here with you?" He asked.

She cringed at the joke.

"Too soon?" He asked.

"I'll get used to it." She sighed. "It'll be so weird being here on my own." She mumbled, thinking out loud.

"Well…" He said slowly. "You might not be on your own, if you're okay with it Elvis might stay for a little while? To be honest it might be good, you can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do something stupid!"

"He's not going to run off and try and find Georgie or something is he?" She asked, looking doubtful.

"Georgie's coming with me, she's our medic." He said. "So you should be safe then. I think that's a bit far even for Elvis."

She rested her head against his chest again and he tightened his arms around her. "It might be nice to have some company." She agreed. "But I'd much rather have you here."

He kissed the top of her head. "I know, but i'll be back before you know it. We both knew it was going to happen at some point, I just wish it wasn't right now." He couldn't remember ever having felt like this about leaving Rebecca, that was telling.

She stretched up on her toes to kiss him, winding her arms around his neck. "Let's just not think about it right now?" She suggested. "I want to enjoy our last night together for a while." She went for the buttons on his shirt just as Elvis walked into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks.

Charles glared at him. "So maybe I'll just go out for a few hours… Give you two some space." Elvis said quickly, his hands up in surrender as he backed away quickly.

Molly couldn't help but laugh. "Poor Elvis, you invite him over and then kick him out!"

"I didn't kick him out!" Charles protested.

"You gave him one of those stern looks of yours, of course he left!" She laughed. "But still, it would be nice to have a couple of hours to ourselves before you go." Her hands went back to the buttons on his shirt.

He had other ideas, scooping her up into his arms and laughing as she squealed in surprise. That was when it hit him just how much he was going to miss her.


	27. Chapter 27

Unsurprisingly, neither of them could sleep. They'd been vaguely aware of the sound of Elvis coming back in and up the stairs to the spare room, but they'd stayed where they were, Molly wrapped around him like a vine as he held her -like that might somehow prevent him from leaving her. He'd dozed on and off, as restless as she was at the thought of what was to come in just a few hours.

He'd eventually given up on trying to get any more sleep in the early hours of the morning. Molly had not long stopped tossing and turning beside him and fallen asleep so he left her there and slipped out of the bedroom silently to go and get himself a much needed coffee.

He nearly had a heart attack when he turned on the kitchen light and found Elvis sitting at the table. "Jesus Christ Elvis!" He cursed under his breath, conscious of the fact Molly was still asleep. "Why are you sitting in my kitchen in the dark?" He started making his coffee.

Elvis shrugged. "I was thinking, couldn't sleep. Plus I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn't wake you two up."

Charles rolled his eyes. "I think you probably could've managed to turn a light on quietly."

"I wasn't really expecting either of you to get up, I thought you'd be making up for lost time and all that." Elvis winked, taking the coffee Charles had made him. "What's wrong?" He asked when Charles didn't crack a smile.

He sat down opposite Elvis, he could feel a stress headache coming on already and he hadn't even had to deal with two section yet. It wasn't going to be a good day. "Promise me you'll keep an eye on her while I'm gone?"

"I really think she'll be fine once she gets her head around the idea of you being gone. It's just bad timing that it's just been sort of sprung on you with no warning." Elvis attempted to reassure him.

"Just do it for me, please Elvis? I can't be out there worrying about what's going on here. We both know that's how things go wrong." Charles pleaded.

"Relax." Elvis laughed. "I've got this covered."

"Thank you." Charles visibly relaxed.

"So." Elvis said after a moment's pause. "Georgie's going to Nepal with you right?"

"Elvis." There was a warning tone to Charles's voice. "I've told you before I'm not getting involved."

"I'm not asking you to." Elvis shot back quickly. "I'm just asking you to return the favour and look out for her?"

Charles nodded. "You know I'd do that anyway?"

Elvis didn't answer, they were both distracted by a piercing scream that came from upstairs. They'd both jumped up automatically, Elvis spilling the remains of his coffee on the table, and run up to the bedroom taking the stairs two at a time as they heard another scream.

"Molly?" They crashed into the bedroom turning on the lights. Molly sat bolt upright in the bed as they turned them on, gasping for breath as she looked into the confused faces of Charles and Elvis.

"Shit." She whispered, trying to remind herself it was just a dream and she needed to breathe. "Sorry."

"I'll leave you to it." Elvis said quietly, forcing a smile at Charles. His heart was still pounding from the adrenaline as he walked back down the stairs to clear up the coffee he'd spilled.

"Hey." Charles whispered softly, crawling back into the bed beside her as the tears started to stream down her face. "It's okay." He held her tightly as she sobbed into his chest.

She felt sick to her stomach as she clung on to him as if her life depended on it. It had been so real and so vivid it had taken her a moment to get her bearings when Charles and Elvis had first come in and remember she was in bed not in that tiny little cell in Kenya all over again. She'd thought the nightmares had finally started to fade- it had been weeks since she'd woken herself up screaming, but apparently they were back with vengeance.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Charles asked hesitantly. He knew she didn't like to talk about these things, but whatever it was had obviously shaken her. He didn't know if he'd ever get the sound of that scream out of his head.

She shook her head, wiping her sleeve roughly across her face. "It's fine, nothing to worry about. I get them occasionally, I'm sorry is I scared you." She couldn't look him in the eye, because she knew if she did she was going to crumble and today was going to be hard enough already without adding to it.

He was far from convinced. "Are they about Kenya?" He asked, he needed to be able to convince himself she was okay so he could get on that plane, and this wasn't helping. "Because things like that mess you up, it's okay. You don't have to try and hide it."

"I was fucked up way before Kenya." She sighed, pulling herself away from him even though she wanted him to hold her forever. The packed Bergen that sat at the end of the bed a painful reminder that he wouldn't be there in a few hours. "I'm fine, really. I'm going to go and shower." She needed ten minutes to clear her head and put on a brave face so he'd stop looking at her like that.

When she went down to the kitchen after he was standing there in his uniform, his bag by his feet ready to go. She felt her lip start to tremble again. She hadn't thought it would be possible, but this was going to be harder than she'd imagined.

She stood there for a second, frozen to the spot as she stared at him. This was really happening. He was going, and she had no idea what to say to him.

"I'll go and put this in the car." Elvis said, picking up the bag, he needed an excuse to give them a minute. Molly looked like she was going to fall apart any second and he didn't want to be there to witness it. Maybe Charles was right, maybe she wasn't as okay as she seemed. He wasn't sure he was really the right person to be looking out for her while Charles was gone- things like this had never been his strong point.

Molly was still rooted to the spot in the kitchen, eyes wide as she stared at Charles. He closed the distance between them, putting his arms around her and she softened into his embrace.

"I know you have to, but I really really wish you didn't have to go." She whispered.

"I know." He replied, holding her that little bit tighter as he breathed in the scent of her freshly washed hair, committing the smell and feel of her to memory. Anything to get him through the next few weeks or months.

"I told myself I wasn't going to cry." She laughed through the tears that were forming again. "That obviously didn't work out so well."

"You're allowed to be upset." His voice was soothing as his fingers gently traced her face. "It's not what either of us wanted, but it's not forever either." He leant down to give her a kiss. It started off gentle, but it ended up almost painful with the intensity and need for each other. They pulled away from each other reluctantly, but didn't move apart.

"We need to go, don't we." She sighed reluctantly, glancing at the clock behind him.

He nodded, pulling away from her but keeping hold of her hand as he pulled her towards the door. They slid into the back of the car together, Elvis unusually quiet as he drove them to the base. Charles met his eye in the mirror and he knew the small nod Elvis gave in return was a silent promise to look after Molly while he was gone.

The journey to the base didn't take anywhere as long as she would've liked it to. She found herself clinging on to him for the last few seconds as Elvis parked the car, wondering how on earth she was going to let go. She was about to find out, Elvis switched off the car and climbed out. They were there, and she was going to have to let him go.

They climbed out in silence, Elvis was at the boot getting his Bergen out for him. Molly stood there, chewing on her lip as she tried to remind herself it was only temporary. He'd be fine and she'd see him again soon, no matter how much it hurt in that moment.

"Look after yourself mate." Elvis grinned, giving Charles a quick hug before he could try and object. "And don't worry, I've got this." He added, his voice dropping to a whisper so Molly wouldn't hear him.

"Thanks Elvis." Charles smiled, turning back to Molly. "I'll call you as soon as I get a chance, I promise." He told her as he put his arms around her again. "It'll be like I never even left."

"Maybe I want to get rid of you so I can have five minutes peace." She joked through the tears. She stretched up to kiss him before he could say anything. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid and you'll come back in one piece?"

"Promise." He smiled, glancing over his shoulder, he was really going to have to go.

"Go, I'll be fine." She whispered. "I love you."

He couldn't keep the grin off his face. "I love you too." He whispered, giving her one last kiss before he pulled himself away. He took his Bergen from Elvis, swung it over his shoulder and started to walk away.

He hesitated for a second and glanced back over his shoulder, Molly stood next to Elvis wiping her eyes but she forced a smile waving goodbye as Elvis put an arm around her shoulders. He waved once more, then disappeared inside, still trying to convince himself she was going to be okay.

It really hit her when they were about half way home and the tears she'd held back in front of him, and had been trying to hold in in front of Elvis overcame her. She was aware of Elvis out of the corner of her eye, his face contorting as he desperately tried to think of something to say to try and comfort her.

"Not a fucking word Elvis. This never happened." She choked out. "If he asks you everything is absolutely fine okay?"

His sigh of relief was visible as he nodded in agreement. "That I can do. Now let's get you home and get you a beer?" He suggested.

She shook her head. "I've got to go to work, but thanks." She made herself smile in an attempt to convince him she wasn't totally insane. She didn't think it had worked.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked, looking a little surprised.

She nodded. "I'll be fine, I need to do something." Shed'd buried all her feelings in work after Kenya and it had worked quite well, she just hoped it would work as well this time round.


	28. Chapter 28

_i just wanted to say thankyou all so much for all your really kind comments on the last few chapters. It really made me smile reading them all and knowing you're still enjoying this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! I'm on a bit of a mission to finally get something finished, starting with this story so there should be plenty more updates to come in the next week or two._

"I can't think of a nice way to put this so I'm just going to come out and say it… you look like shit." Jess told her, leaning against the nurses station beside her at work that afternoon.

"I second what she says." Paul chimed in. "I was just a bit worried that you might punch me if I said anything" he joked.

Molly managed to half smile at him. "I'm fine really." She tried to put some enthusiasm into her voice but it still came out sounding flat.

"Are you not feeling well or-" Jess was reaching for her forehead.

Molly ducked out of the way. "Jess can you just leave it?" She pleaded. "I'm fine honestly. Which patient do you want me to see next."

"Actually." Paul took the set of notes that Jess had been about to give to Molly from her hands. "I've got this covered and there's two cups of tea in the staff room with your names on." He smiled.

"It's fine, I can do it." She protested.

They both shook their heads. "You and I both know Jess isn't going to take no for an answer. Go and drink your tea and put her mind at rest that you're fine and then you can knock yourself out with as many patients as you like." He suggested. It wasn't just Jess who was worried about her- she'd been all over the place earlier, dropping things and losing her train of thought mid sentence. Something was obviously wrong, she wasn't as good at hiding it as she thought she was.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you both agree to leave me in peace after?"

"You have my word." Paul agreed. Jess didn't say anything, she just grabbed her by the elbow and marched her into the staff room.

She made the teas in silence as Molly watched, then sat down on the sofa looking at her expectantly.

"I told you I'm fine!" Molly snapped. She'd had bloody Elvis hovering around her like a fly that she couldn't squash since they'd got back and just when she'd thought she might get five minutes of peace Jess had decided to take his place.

"Don't lie to me Molly Dawes." Jess frowned. "Have you looked in a mirror at the state of yourself? I mean no offence but you look terrible."

"Yeah so you keep reminding me." She sighed.

"So…" Jess continued to press for answers. "Did something happen with Charles, or is it your family?"

Molly sighed, pulling at the end of her pony tail. "Charles has been deployed. I dropped him off back at the base this morning. Happy now?" She asked.

"Oh Molly, I'm sorry." Jess felt bad for pestering her. She'd assumed that they'd had a stupid argument or something. "How long is he gone for?"

Molly shrugged. "He doesn't know. And if you don't mind I'd really rather not talk about it. I came here to do my job and take my mind off it. I know you're trying to help but you're really not okay?" She legged it out of the staff room and into the toilets to pull herself together quickly before Jess could come looking for her and start again. There was a real danger that between Jess and Elvis she was going to end up getting suffocated before Charles got back.

Five minutes later she emerged from the toilets, Jess was right she really did look ill but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She silently took the details of her next patient and went to find them. One step at a time she kept reminding herself. She'd do her job first, and worry about the empty bed waiting for her at home later.

Work had the effect she'd hoped, giving her mind something to focus on other than where Charles might be and what he was doing at that moment in time. Baby steps, one patient at a time she found herself getting through the day- trying to ignore the fact the Paul and Jess seemed to constantly be half a step behind her, hovering just incase she needed them.

She was disappointed when the shift ended, grabbing her coat and slipping out without saying goodbye to anyone. She'd over heard Jess earlier talking about everyone going out for drinks and she didn't have the energy to fabricate an excuse to get out of it. She was exhausted. The only thing she was going to do was go home and curl up on the sofa.

"Hey I saved you some pizza!" Elvis called as she walked through the front door. "I thought you might be hungry!"

She paused at the bottom of the stairs to kick off her shoes. "Thanks. I'm going to go shower first." She ran up the stairs before he could come after her. She didn't want to sit there and eat pizza with him while he made awkward conversation. He could try and make her feel better all he wanted, he wouldn't succeed because he couldn't understand what was going on in her head.

She'd got out of the shower and into bed, even though it was only 9pm, to try and avoid him feeling like he had to try and cheer her up. She'd had a horrible feeling he might come and find her, and she'd been right.

There was a timid knock at the door, she rolled over and turned the bedside lamp on. "What Elvis?" She sighed.

He opened the door and peered round. "Are you sure you're okay? You didn't come down for Pizza." He'd already flopped down on Charles's side of the bed before she could stop him.

"I ate at work." She lied, hoping to get rid of him. "I've had a busy shift and I'm tired. I just want to go to sleep."

He didn't take the hint, staying exactly where he was. "It'll be a few more hours before Charlie gets there I expect." He was rambling, trying to think of something to say. Charles was going to owe for this- he knew he wasn't good with emotions, that's what had got him into all that trouble with Georgie in the first place. He was much more comfortable under enemy fire than in a situation like this.

"Look I know what you're trying to do Elvis." She sighed. "I appreciate the effort but I'm fine."

"You're a terrible liar." He sat up and turned to face her.

"I honestly couldn't give a toss if you believe me or not I just want you to leave me in peace." She grumbled.

"And the nightmares?" He asked. He'd spotted the box of sleeping tablets on the beside table the second he'd walked in. She'd dug them out of the bottom of her bag, she'd relied on them heavily when she'd first got back. Now she was just thankful she hadn't thrown them away when she'd foolishly assumed that her nightmares had gone.

She followed his line of sight, snatching the box up and shoving it into the drawer. "Last time I checked it wasn't a crime to have trouble sleeping." She answered sarcastically.

Elvis held his hands up in mock surrender. "You don't need to fight me, I'm not the enemy. I'm just saying that I was there okay? Me and the boys, we had to go back and clear the compounds out with the Kenyans that night after we'd extracted you. I saw what it was like in there, some of the footage and the pictures they took. I get it. Stuff like that, well it would fuck anyone up." His tone was gentle, it reminded her of when she'd been back in that helicopter and they'd all been looking at her like she was going to fall apart any second. He was giving her that same look now.

"Does Charles know?" She asked, her voice a hoarse whisper.

Elvis shook his head. "It was a Special Forces operation, need to know basis. He wasn't involved and neither was Georgie."

She bit her lip. That made her feel slightly better. "You need to promise me you won't tell him." She said, looking at Elvis and waiting for an answer.

"Tell him what?" He looked confused.

"Any of it." She hissed. "What it was like in there, about any of this… just any of it Elvis, please."

"Okay, Okay." He agreed reluctantly, more to calm her down rather than anything else. "Have you really not told him about any of it?"

She shook her head.

"Can I ask why?" He frowned.

"Because I want to forget about it and move on. I don't want the rest of my life defined by what happened there." She admitted.

"As I'm keeping secrets, do want to tell me what you were screaming about this morning?" He suggested hesitantly. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of keeping secrets from Charles but something was obviously bothering her.

She looked down at her hands. She hadn't told anyone what had happened to her in there. Even when they'd tried to interview her about it she'd lied and told them she couldn't remember anything. She didn't want to have to go through every painful detail with a bunch of complete strangers. The thought of reliving it was too painful. But unfortunately that hadn't stopped her from reliving it in vivid detail in her nightmares every night.

"I watched it." The words fell out of her mouth like her brain and disconnected from her body.

"What?" Elvis could follow what she was talking about.

"The hostage video." She whispered. "It turns out it's still on the internet for the world to see. I don't know why, what I thought it was going to achieve but I looked it up and watched it." Her fingers traced a line on her neck, she could still feel the cool metal blade of the knife against her neck even now.

To his credit Elvis didn't even look the slightest bit surprised. "Is that what you've been having nightmares about?" He asked.

She shook her head. "When I was in there… I… they would chain my arms up above my head… right up above my head so high that my feet were almost off the floor." She whispered. If she closed her eyes it was as though she was still there now. "They hooded me, and then they tied my legs together so I couldn't move and I couldn't see them, but I could still hear them… I could feel their hands all over me." She felt sick just thinking about it.

"Molly." He hesitated, he'd been about to reach out and put a hand on her arm but he wasn't sure how she'd react. He slowly retracted his hand, planting it firmly on his own knee.

"They'd whisper in my ear, tell me exactly how they planned to kill me." She continued in a whisper, looking down at her hands. "One day I actually pleaded with one of them to just shoot me and get it over with. I had no idea anyone even knew I was gone, let alone looking for me."

Elvis took a breath. "Molly, I read copies of the interview transcripts from when you got back. You told them you couldn't remember anything?" He asked, confused.

"I don't." She lied. "Not really. Just those few bits, but believe me it's enough. Besides it doesn't matter now does it? You got them and I'm back here safe." She forced herself to smile.

Elvis opened his mouth to speak then changed his mind and closed it again.

"As lovely as this is Elvis, feel free to piss off and let me sleep." She told him when he still hadn't moved five minutes later. He was just sitting there, looking at her like he was waiting for something and it was really starting to irritate her.

"Right. Sorry." He mumbled, heading for the bedroom door. "Night then I guess. Come and get me if you need anything?"

She nodded slightly. "Night Elvis." She called softly as he closed the door. She listened to the sound of his footsteps as he made his way back down the stairs. She turned off the light and rolled into the pillow on his side of the bed that still smelled like him. Then she finally let herself cry.


	29. Chapter 29

She seemed to have come to a weird, and somewhat awkward, agreement with Elvis in the four weeks that Charles had been gone. He'd pretend he hadn't heard her screaming all night, she'd go to work and then make conversation with him for half an hour before retreating up to bed.

She hadn't really heard from Charles- he'd left one voicemail when she'd been at work and she felt awful when she saw that she'd missed his call. The line was bad and she could hardly hear him, but she'd just about managed to work out that he was trying to say they'd arrived and everything was okay. She'd saved the message so she could listen to it again, she missed the sound of his voice. Since then they'd only exchanged a few texts- his reception was patchy and it had taken a couple of days for him to reply. It was probably for the best that she hadn't got to speak to him, it was easier to pretend she was okay when he couldn't actually see or hear her.

She was feeling the effects of the lack of sleep, it suddenly hit her all at once halfway through her shift. She could barely keep her eyes open as she stood there trying to fill some paperwork in. She was vaguely aware of Jess lurking out of the corner of her eye. She braced herself ready for another round of questions about how she was coping.

"Burns guy is back if you want him?" Jess asked, taking her by surprise. "He's got a friend with him this time."

"Um… yeah, sure." Molly mumbled. "Thanks Jess."

Jess paused for a second. "I know you're going to say I'm fine so I'm not going to ask, but come get me if you need me okay?"

Molly nodded, biting her lip. "Thanks Jess, really." She forced a quick smile and headed off to find her patient. Maybe this would give her something to focus on for a bit.

"Hi I'm Doctor Dawes." She painted a smile onto her face as she pulled back the curtain and stepped into the cubicle. "Let's have a look at your arm shall we?" She grabbed a pair of gloves from the box on the wall and then turned to face her patient.

She bent down to have a look at the burns, which now looked a lot worse than they had when she'd first seen him. They'd started to heal a little but looked like they were probably infected. "Can you tell me how you did this?" She asked again. "It would really help us treat you."

"No. You're going to stop asking questions, do your job and then we are going to leave." His friend stood up, towering over her.

"Sit down or I'm going to call security." She tried to sound firm, but she could feel the panic rising.

He laughed quietly, taking another step towards her as she backed up away from him. "You're that doctor aren't you? The one from Kenya. I almost didn't believe him when he told me, but I'd never forget that face."

"Do I know you?" She asked, shoving her hands in her pockets to try and hide the fact they were shaking.

He shook his head, glancing back for a second at his friend on the bed who was smirking. "No, but we know you, even if you don't remember us. Now are we going to get on with this or not?" He sat back down on the chair beside the bed and looked at her expectantly.

She nodded, trying to regain her train of thought. Something was wrong, she just couldn't put her finger on what. Then it hit her, his voice…. those eyes.

The floor seemed to sway and the room spin as she backed out of the cubicle. This couldn't be happening.

"Molly?" She smacked straight into Paul. He looked at her with concern. She could barely hear him, her head was spinning. "What's wrong?"

"I… I…." She couldn't get any words out. Her stomach was churning and she was worried if she stood there much longer she might actually be sick.

How had they ended up in the staffroom? She couldn't even remember. Where had Jess come from?

"Deep breaths." Jess was crouched down in front of her. "That's it nice and slowly."

"Will you be alright?" Paul asked quietly, lurking in the doorway.

Jess nodded. "I'll come get you if I need you. Thanks." She turned her attention back to Molly.

She could feel herself gasping for air but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't slow herself down. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her legs had gone to jelly from all the adrenaline.

"Did something happen with that patient? Do I need to call security?" Jess asked, holding a glass of water.

Molly took it from her, but quickly put it back down. Her hands were shaking too much to hold it. She found herself shaking her head.

"I need to go home I don't feel well." She mumbled. She wasn't even sure she was making sense. Her head felt fuzzy.

"Let me go and get Paul you don't look right." Jess suggested, half standing up.

Molly grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "I just want to go home, please." She begged. "I'm fine, I'm a doctor too I don't need Paul. I shouldn't have come in I didn't feel right this morning."

Jess hesitated, she didn't look convinced. "Are you sure nothing else is going on?" She frowned. There was something else happening but she hadn't got a clue what.

"I'm fine." She finally felt like she could catch her breath again but her whole body was still shaking.

"I'm not letting you walk home like this. Did you say that Elvis bloke was still staying with you?"

Molly nodded silently. Her stomach was churning again and she was using most of her concentration on not throwing up everywhere.

"Give me your phone." Jess ordered and Molly handed it to her wordlessly.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed- it could've been minutes or hours- but she was vaguely aware of Elvis in the doorway talking to Jess.

He'd been out for a run when Jess had called him, he'd sprinted the whole way back to the house and as a result he was knackered by the time he got there. He vaguely recognised the tiny brunette woman waiting for him at the reception, he'd met her when he'd picked the key up from Molly. What was her name? Jane or something?

"Thanks for coming." Jess smiled tightly.

Elvis nodded. He'd heard on the phone how stressed she sounded, he'd assumed something awful had happened but Molly seemed to just be sitting on the sofa staring into space.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, Molly didn't look like she was taking in anything they were saying but he whispered just incase.

"I don't know." Jess shrugged. "She went to see a patient and then Paul found her in the corridor looking like she was having some sort of panic attack? I've tried to ask her but she keeps saying she's fine, but I mean look at her." She looked at him hopelessly.

"Did something happen, with the patient?" He asked, pulling at the hair on the back of his neck. He hadn't got a clue how to deal with something like this. What he really needed was Georgie, in more ways than one.

Jess shrugged. "I don't know to be honest, I called security but he'd run off by the time they got here. It is a bit weird he's been in a few times and disappeared. She didn't really say anything about him though. Mind you she's hardly said a word."

"I'll take her home, Thanks." He crossed the room and crouched down in front of Molly. He'd had a text from Charles the night before asking how she was. He'd said she was fine, but looking at her now she was anything but fine. "Come on Molly, let's go."

She stared at him for a moment before getting to her feet unsteadily, the room spinning a little as she started to follow him out.

"I'll come round and see you when my shift is done." Jess said, and Elvis shot her a grateful look, mouthing a thank you to her.

She was silent the whole way home, staring out of the window. Elvis didn't try and say anything to her, he hadn't got a clue what to say to her anyway.

Elvis pulled into the driveway and switched off the engine. She sat and stared at the house for a moment, not moving.

"Come on." Elvis had appeared at her door and opened it. "Let's get you inside."

She climbed out of the car and followed him inside like a zombie, her head still spinning. She'd thought all this was behind her, that she'd finally moved forward with her life and now it had all come back around to haunt her again.

"You're not going up there to hide." Elvis caught her arm and redirected her to the sofa as she headed for the stairs. "Sit."

She did as she was told, she was still in a daze. How was this happening to her again? Elvis perched himself on the end of the coffee table so he was sitting opposite her. He wondered if he looked as uncomfortable as he felt.

"I know that we don't really know eachother that well, and you really just want Charles…. but well he's not here is he? So you're going to have to make do with me." He'd meant it to sound like a joke but neither of them smiled.

"I can't do this again." She whispered. "I really thought it was him."

"Who?" He couldn't follow what she was talking about, but seeing her sitting there she looked more terrified than she had the day they'd rescued her and she'd been sat in the back of the helicopter.

"That patient. I looked at him and it was all I could see but it can't be. It's impossible."She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts.

"You're going to have to tell me who he is because I don't know what you're talking about." Elvis prompted.

"He looked really like one of the men who took me." She whispered, her voice cracking. "And I know that sounds crazy because they can't be here but it's not the first time."

Elvis suddenly sat up straight. "What do you mean it's not the first time?"

She buried her head in her hands. "When I first came back I was a mess. I'd see them everywhere- in the supermarket, near my parents house, on the tube… I really struggled." She admitted. "I thought I was going mad, because they're all in prison or whatever so it's impossible, but I came here and got a job and I was finally starting to feel like… well me again… and now it's happening again."

"Was it always the same one you saw or different ones?" He asked.

"The same, the English one who grabbed me at the clinic." She answered. "Why are you asking me this?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "There's something I need to tell you, but I need you not to freak out about it. It's all going to be okay."

"Elvis you're scaring me." Her heart was pounding in her chest again and she felt sick to her stomach.

"When we cleared the compound we found a hatch which led to a whole load of underground tunnels. There's a chance, and it's small, that we didn't get everyone. Someone could've escaped." He said slowly, watching her face.

"You're telling me that this whole time I thought I was going insane he might've actually been there watching me? I'm going to be sick."

He didn't register what she'd said until she ran out of the room into the bathroom. He grabbed a glass of water and reluctantly followed after her.

"Thanks." She mumbled, taking the glass of water from him. She hauled herself up off the floor. "Why did no one tell me?" She whispered.

He sat down beside her on the sofa this time. "It could be nothing. It doesn't mean it really is him." He tried to reassure her. "But at the time we didn't really have a lot to go on. You couldn't remember anything and we had no idea who we were expecting to be in the compound. We only had the hostage video to go on and their faces were covered- well you've seen it I guess."

"This is all my fault." She whispered in horror. "He could be out there because I said I couldn't remember."

Elvis kicked himself, that wasn't what he meant. "No, look you'd been through a lot no one would blame you. The chances are it's not him, he might've maybe just looked a bit like one of them."

Molly shook her head. She was almost afraid to tell him. "He knew who I was."

"What?" He couldn't hide the alarm on his face this time.

"The man who was with the patient, he said that I was the doctor from Kenya and he knew me."

"Okay." Elvis said slowly. She could see his brain working as he tried to think. "What was he there for again?" He asked.

"He was with another guy, he's been coming in and then disappearing before we can get to him for a few days. He had some sort of burns on one of his arms, looked like they might maybe be chemical." She told him.

"Do you think you'd recognise him if you saw him again?" He asked.

She nodded. It wasn't helping the way that Elvis was looking so stressed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number, pacing back and forth across them room.

"What's going on?" She asked, although she wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer.

"We need to find out if it really is him, or if it's just a coincidence." He said, pacing impatiently as he waited for someone to answer the bloody phone. "If it is him, there's a chance that he might be planning something. We found a lot of plans and supplies for making bombs in the compound." He shouldn't have told her that, but how could he not? They were going to need her anyway, she'd find out the whole truth of it soon enough.

"Shit." He heard her whisper.

He didn't say anything, his call finally being answered. "It's Elvis Harte…" he disappeared into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. Part of her wanted to go and listen to what he was saying, but she thought maybe she might be better off not knowing.


	30. Chapter 30

She was torn between marching into the kitchen and demanding Elvis tell her absolutely everything he knew, or the more attractive option of burying her head in the sand hoping it would all go away. Elvis was still barking orders into his phone, she'd catch the odd word here and there as he passed the door- he'd been pacing up and down the kitchen non stop, there was probably going to be a hole in the floor by the time he was done.

Her phone lit up with a text from Charles, asking if she'd be home for him to call her later. She stared at it for a moment, almost afraid to touch it. Had Elvis told him? She was going to kill him if he had.

His head snapped up as she opened the kitchen door. "Can I call you back in a minute? I just need to sort something out quickly." He hung up the phone and turned to face her. "What's wrong?" The way she was glaring at him reminded him of the last time he'd pissed Charles off, if looks could kill he'd be dead.

"You fucking told him?!" She thrust her phone in his face. "Why would you do that Elvis?" She was angry, but in a way it was a relief for him. He'd had a lot more practice with women screaming at him than crying on his shoulder, now he just needed to work out what she was talking about.

He read the message she'd shoved in front of his face, then it clicked in his brain. She was wrong though, he had thought about calling Charles a couple of times, before this whole thing had even happened, but he hadn't. He'd decided Charles was just going to freak out if he knew Molly wasn't really coping, and given the fact that he was stuck several thousand miles away in a disaster zone there wasn't anything he could do so he'd come to the conclusion he was probably just better off not knowing.

"I didn't tell him anything." He said defensively, handing the phone back to her. "So you can stop glaring at me like that. I thought about it, but I didn't see the point in him worrying about it too."

She looked at him skeptically. "So why is he suddenly wanting to talk to me?" She demanded.

Elvis shrugged. "I don't know, I'd say it's probably got something to do with the fact that you've been avoiding having to talk to him since he left?" He did briefly wonder if she was going to hit him for that one, it had come out a little harsher than intended. Maybe he could go and trade places with Charles? He'd much rather be in Nepal than trying to sort this mess out, it was what he was better at.

"Thanks for that Elvis." She cringed. "I can't bloody talk to him now can I! What am I supposed to say? Oh yeah I had a great day at work, except for the part where the man who kidnapped me might actually be right here and up to god knows what? Yeah he's going to take that real well."

Elvis grimaced. "Okay point taken." He racked his brains trying to think what they could say, without having to lie, that wouldn't freak Charles out too much but he was coming up empty.

There was a knock at the door, causing Molly to jump out of her skin. She started to move towards the front door to open it.

"Don't." Elvis barked. "Stay here." He shut the kitchen door and went to answer the front door. He reappeared a minute later with Jess in tow. "You've got five minutes. Then we need to go." He ordered, closing the kitchen door and leaving them alone for a minute.

"I take back what I said about liking him, what's his problem?" Jess asked, she'd been surprised by the frosty reception at the door.

What was she supposed to say? She didn't need Elvis there to tell her she couldn't tell Jess the truth about what was going on. "Sorry. He's just a bit stressed that's all." She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped that Jess would just drop it.

"Is something going on?" Jess frowned.

Molly shook her head, hoping she was doing a better job of lying to her friend than she felt like she was. "It's fine, really. He's had a bad day I think, and we have got to go in a couple of minutes. I totally forgot you were coming or I would've called and told you not to. Sorry."

Jess didn't look convinced. "Where are you going? I thought you'd be in bed after earlier."

Molly bit her lip, trying to think of something to say. "We're just going to the base, Elvis needs to drop something off and I wanted to get out of the house for a little while." God she was terrible at this. She wasn't sure if they were actually going somewhere or if he'd just said it so she'd have a reason to get rid of Jess. Either way she wasn't doing a very good job of it. She briefly wondered what Elvis was going to do if Jess wasn't gone in a couple of minutes- she wouldn't put it past him to come in and carry her out if she was completely honest.

"Okay." Jess said slowly. "If you're sure you're okay then I'll get going. But call me if you need me, Paul did say you might be off for a few days so they won't be expecting you at work tomorrow. You don't need to worry about that."

"Thanks Jess." Molly forced a smile, giving Jess a quick hug. She opened the kitchen door to find Elvis stood right the otherside.

"I'll show you out." He said frostily, causing Jess to glare at him but she did as she was told and followed him back the way she'd come.

Molly leant against the doorframe, listening to the sound of Elvis bolting the front door shut and putting the chain on. The she realised why he'd been so funny about it all.

"You think they might know where I live don't you? Don't lie to me this time." She demanded as he walked back in.

Elvis ran his fingers through his hair, flopping down in the arm chair by the window so that he could see the street outside. "We have to consider the fact that it might not have been by chance that they turned up at the hospital you were working in, while you were on shift." He admitted. "And I'm not taking any chances, you and I both know what Charles would do to me if anything happened."

She was quiet for a moment, trying to take it in as she sat back down on the sofa. She'd been hoping he'd tell her she was wrong, not confirm her fears. "So what do we do now?" She asked, she wasn't sure she actually wanted the answer to that question either.

"Counter terrorism are looking into it now." He said slowly, he was trying to think what he could actually tell her. "They'll get the CCTV images from the hospital, see if they can get a car that they came in or something to help us track them. We'll go down to London tomorrow, you're the only one who actually knows what he looks like so they're going to need you to try and ID him."

"And then what? Can you lie to me and tell me it's all going to be okay because I don't think I can handle much more of this."

"Well, if we assume that it does turn out to be him, then there's going to be come kind of operation to catch him." He told her. It was difficult to say anything without knowing exactly who the guy was and what counter terrorism might have on him what would actually happen.

"You?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I don't get to choose, I just take the orders I'm given." He was secretly hoping he'd be involved in whatever happened firstly so he could make sure they got it right this time, and also because the idea that some of them had got away had been bothering him since they'd pulled Molly out of that compound.

Her phone was vibrating on the coffee table and she knew without looking who it was going to be. She desperately wanted to talk to him, but she didn't know if there was any way she could do that without him knowing straight away something was wrong.

Elvis picked the phone up and threw it at her. "Just answer it, tell him or don't tell him. Whatever you decide, but you ignoring him isn't going to stop him worrying. I'm going to go and shower- don't answer the door or do anything stupid."

She smiled at him gratefully, knowing that was his way of giving her the space she needed to talk to Charles. "Hey!" She tried to make herself sound cheerful as she answered the phone.

"I didn't know if you'd be at work or not, you didn't respond to my message." He sounded so relieved and she could feel the tears welling in her eyes already.

"Sorry, I totally forgot I had a bit of a day at work. How are things? I've missed you." Her voice trembled slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"It's okay, we've been busy. It's very different to anything I've done before. I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to the aftershocks." He wondered if she could hear in his voice just how difficult he was finding this tour.

She didn't answer him, trying to compose herself enough to get her words out. How was it that now she was talking to him she missed him even more than she had before?

"Molly? What's wrong?" He stood up from his camp bed that he'd been perched on the side of, glancing over at Kingy who was fast asleep. He ducked out of the tent and walked out of the way a bit anyway so he wouldn't wake him up.

"Nothing." She whispered, rubbing at her eyes. She was thankful that Elvis had left her to it and hadn't been there to witness this. "I just miss you, that's all."

He'd missed her to, more than he'd maybe expected to. He'd been expecting it to be the same as he'd felt leaving Rebecca at home when he'd been in Afghanistan, but he'd been wrong. He wasn't sure what it was, maybe it was just a strange combination of actually wanting to spend time with Molly unlike the way he'd been with Rebecca and the fact that he felt like he was in over his head on this tour, but either way he'd found himself feeling desperately homesick on more than one occasion.

"I really miss you to." He sighed. "It shouldn't be for too much longer. Are you sure nothing else has happened though? Elvis hasn't done something stupid has he because I swear to god I'll…"

"Elvis has been great." She cut him off. She couldn't listen to him rant about Elvis, not after everything that he'd done for her since Charles had been gone. She might not have been his biggest fan to start with but she was seeing a whole new side to him.

"Are you sure you're okay though?" Charles prompted. "Did something happen at work?" It was difficult to tell without seeing her face exactly what it was, but something about her seemed off.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, I promise." She told him, hoping maybe that would be enough to convince him. She felt so guilty lying to him, but he sounded stressed enough as he was. Elvis was right he didn't need this to worry about as well.

He lost his train of thought, being distracted by a shriek from two sections tent and the sound of laughter. If it was Richards again he was probably going to have to kill her, well if Georgie didn't beat him too it that was.

"I'm really sorry Molly, I'm going to have to go." He sighed. "I'll call you back in a little while?"

"Okay." She whispered. "I love you, stay safe."

"Ditto. I love you." He replied, hanging up the phone and storming off to find out what on earth two section were up to this time.


	31. Chapter 31

His phone rang right on cue, he didn't even need to look and see who was calling him. He'd been sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for it. "Charlie, how's Nepal?" He asked, bracing himself for what was about to come.

"Why didn't you tell me Elvis? I literally asked you to do one thing for me while I was gone!" Charles snapped.

"Oh she told you, thank fuck. I was worried I might have to try and lie to you." Elvis breathed a sigh of relief.

"Told me what?" Charles's tone was icy. "What are you not telling me Elvis?" He could picture how his friend would've been glaring at him if he hadn't been a few thousand miles away.

Elvis felt his heart sink, she obviously hadn't told him then. "Nothing, everything's fine." His answer was strained and false. "I was just meaning how much Molly had missed you, that's all."

"You're a terrible liar Elvis. Why don't we just skip to the bit where you give in and tell me whatever it is that you don't want me to know?" Charles suggested impatiently.

"How's Nepal anyway?" Elvis tried a change of subject that he knew wasn't going to work.

"I'll be on the first flight back out of Nepal to kill you if you don't tell me what it is that you're not telling me." Charles growled. He had known Molly wasn't telling him something, but the way Elvis was trying to avoid telling him whatever it was made him worry it was more serious than he first thought.

"It's all fine really." Elvis tried again. "It's nothing that I can't handle and you've got enough on your plate."

"Let me put this differently in a way you might understand- I've got Richards with two section on this tour, being mentored by Georgie. Unless you want me to go and make sure that Georgie puts it together that the special forces guy that Richards can't stop telling everyone she spent the night with was you, you'd better start talking."

"Shit." Elvis whispered in horror. He'd massively fucked this one up.

"Shit indeed." Charles was seriously pissed off at the idea of Molly and Elvis keeping something from him. "Now spit it out."

"It's nothing for you to worry about, I've got it all under control." Elvis started. He wasn't sure if he was making this whole thing better or worse by trying to keep it from Charles so wouldn't worry. There was only one way to find out.

"Excuse me if that doesn't fill me with confidence." Charles said sarcastically. "I might've believed you if you weren't so bloody against telling me what the hell is going on."

"There was a bit of an incident at the hospital today with one of her patients." Elvis decided that maybe he could go for a half truth and spare Charles the worst of it. "Neither of us wanted to tell you because we knew you'd worry!"

"Yeah because knowing you're keeping something from me makes me feel so much better." Charles retorted. "What do you mean an incident?"

"It's fine, she's okay." Elvis reminded him. "She didn't say exactly what happened. Someone rang me and asked me to pick her up, she'd had a panic attack. But she's okay now, I think maybe everything just got a bit much."

Charles was quiet. "I should've been there with her." He sighed.

"You're doing your job mate, she knows that." Elvis reassured him. "Do you know when you'll be back?"

"A couple of weeks?" Charles didn't sound sure. He was hoping that was going to be all it was.

"So then, Richards?" Elvis cringed a little as he changed the subject, wondering if Charles was going to let it go.

Charles laughed. "Yeah you've made quite the impression there."

Elvis groaned. "It was one stupid bloody night on decompression. Do you think Georgie knows?"

"Well if she doesn't now I wouldn't be surprised if she's figured it out by the end of the tour, especially at the rate Richards is going on about you." Charles joked.

"I'm an idiot." He sighed.

"I know." Charles joked. "Why do you think I was so worried you were keeping something from me?"

"Yeah point taken." Elvis agreed reluctantly. "Don't worry though, really. I've got this covered, I actually like Molly."

"I'm glad she's got your approval." Charles answered sarcastically. Elvis never had got on with Rebecca.

"It's the most important one and you know it." Elvis laughed. "How's Georgie?" He ventured after a brief pause.

Charles sighed. "She's fine, keeping busy. You know what she's like, she's in her element here."

"Look after her for me Charlie." Elvis said softly. She might not be willing to forgive him yet, and he had a few doubts as to whether she ever would, but he'd never stop loving her and worrying about her.

"I will." Charles agreed. "And if anything happens with Molly then just tell me Elvis, you're a terrible liar."

"Yeah okay." Elvis sighed. "I'd better go. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, can you tell Molly I'll call her tomorrow?" He'd hung up the phone, which was rapidly running out of battery, before Elvis could answer.

"Everything okay Boss?" Georgie asked, coming out of the med tent. She'd just caught the end of the conversation and he'd looked worried.

He nodded. "Just worried about Molly." He admitted.

"She'll be okay, she's a tough one." Georgie smiled.

Charles nodded. "I know, but there's something going on that her and Elvis are trying to keep from me. Elvis said it was nothing to worry about, but I'm not being funny but that doesn't really fill me with confidence coming from him."

Georgie snorted with laughter. "No he's not exactly reliable. Have you spoken to her?"

Charles nodded. "She said she's fine."

"Well maybe you just have to take her word for it?" Georgie suggested. "You stressing out about it isn't going to help while you're stuck here is it? Whatever it is they've obviously sorted it, and if it's serious you know Elvis will let you know- he might be an idiot at times but he's not stupid."

"I suppose so." He agreed reluctantly. "Thanks Lane. How are things with Richards?" He changed the subject.

Georgie pulled a face. "Honestly?" She laughed. "I think she might be the death of me."

"She's a handful that's for sure." He agreed. "I'd better go and get on I suppose." He yawned.

"Me too." Georgie agreed. "Richards isn't going to sort herself out is she."

Elvis walked back down the stairs, bracing himself for what Molly was going to have to say. In his defence he hadn't actually meant to tell Charles and he had managed to avoid telling him the worst part, she should be thankful for that really.

"What have you done?" She asked the second she saw him, he looked guilty as hell.

"Charles called me." He admitted, flopping down on the sofa.

"You bloody told him didn't you!" She sighed.

"Not exactly, I told him something had happened at work but I'd didn't actually tell him what. He was worried about you and I sort of assumed you'd told him the way he was talking!"

"No because I stuck to the plan and didn't tell him anything!" Molly rolled her eyes at him. "You do realise that he's now going to be be phoning me constantly asking questions?"

"Well, maybe counter terrorism will tell us there's nothing to worry about tomorrow?" He suggested.

"I don't believe that Elvis and neither do you, cut the crap." She snapped.

"Okay." Elvis admitted. "But at least then if we have to tell him then we can say that is all under control and hopefully they will have caught him." He wondered if he sounded any more hopeful than he felt. He'd got a very bad feeling about all of this.

"You're saying this to try and make me feel better, which I appreciate, but you need to learn to control your face if you want to make me believe it." She commented.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, he jumped up knowing who it was who was calling. He needed to answer it somewhere Molly wasn't going to overhear just incase. "Hold that thought!" He called over his shoulder to Molly as he disappeared into the kitchen and closed the door behind him.

She


	32. Chapter 32

Elvis had woken up to the now familiar sound of Molly screaming at around 4am. He'd laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, waiting to see if she'd stop. They'd got into a weird routine between the two of them where neither of them would acknowledge that it had happened. The one time he had gone to check she was okay and tried to talk to her she'd shut him down instantly and he hadn't tried again.

This though, was different. Usually there'd be a couple of seconds screaming and then she'd wake up, he'd hear her go down the stairs and put the kettle on which was usually his cue to turn over and go back to sleep. He could still hear her in the room next door, then the screaming stopped and she started shouting for help.

He'd gone from half asleep to wide awake in a second, bolting into the bedroom and turning on the lights. He felt the relief wash over him as he realised she was just having a nightmare, and that nothing worse was happening, he leant over the bed and shook her awake. Her eyes flew open and she jumped out of bed, cowering in the corner.

"It's okay, it was just a nightmare." Elvis reminded her, taking a couple of steps back. She looked like a startled animal, and this was a situation he had no idea how to deal with. Maybe he should've told Charles the truth after all.

"I need a drink." She croaked, bolting out of the door before he had a chance to register.

He got dressed and then followed her down the stairs, finding her curled into a ball on the sofa with a cup of tea, staring at the walls. She flinched at the sound of the door closing. "Sorry Elvis, you didn't have to get up."

He shrugged. "I was getting up soon anyway." He lied. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Why, so you can ring Charles and tell him?" She snapped. "Sorry, I didn't mean that." She apologised immediately. She didn't know what was wrong with her, her head was all over the place. Well she did, there was a terrorist out there who was possibly after her, but that wasn't really Elvis's fault.

"No I know." He smiled softly. "You're under a lot of stress it's normal. More nightmares?"

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip.

"I'm not going to go and tell Charles if that's what you're worried about." Elvis sighed. "I might've messed up yesterday I'll admit that, but he was going to find out eventually. This… well that's up to you if you want to talk to him or not."

She pulled at a loose thread on her pyjamas. "I've been having nightmares about Kenya for ages, but this was different." She admitted. "He was there at the hospital and I don't know, I was just screaming for help and no one was coming."

She glanced up, expecting him to be looking at her like she'd gone insane. "I'm not surprised. I'd probably be more worried if you were completely okay with everything that's happened. It wasn't even that long ago that all this happened, the fact that you've managed to get your life back on track is great but there's always going to be bad days. Especially when something like this happens."

She gulped down the rest of her tea. It was scalding hot but she didn't even care. "Can we just get going?" She asked. "I can't sit here anymore."

Elvis nodded in agreement. "As soon as you're ready." He had been thinking the same thing, they just needed to get to Whitehall and find out what the situation was and how bad things really were. Then they could start thinking about what to do. All they were doing was driving themselves insane with worry.

Elvis had been rambling on the whole way to Whitehall, trying to distract her but it hadn't worked, she'd barely heard a word he'd said. She hadn't thought she could get any more anxious, up until the point where they'd walked through the door. She'd been handed a visitors badge and her stomach hadn't stopped churning since.

Elvis had marched off, looking serious again, and she'd found herself almost running to keep up with him as he went up a flight of stairs. He'd eventually stopped outside a wooden door, gesturing to a chair beside it. "Can you just wait here for a minute Molly? I'll come and get you."

She nodded and did as she was told, he disappeared into the room and she sat waiting anxiously. Her phone vibrated again, another call from Charles. This was the third time that morning and she'd ignored all of them. She knew if she spoke to him she wasn't going to be able to carry on holding herself together. Maybe she'd have some good news to tell him after all this was over? She stared at the screen until it stopped ringing, then turned it off and shoved it back in her pocket.

She didn't have to wait too long for Elvis, thankfully because she didn't think her nerves could have handled the suspense. She'd nearly jumped out of her skin when heopened the door and called her in.

There were a few other people in the room, sat around a large table. She recognised a couple of them from Kenya, it took her a moment to realise they were the rest of the special forces team that had been with Elvis when she'd been rescued. The rest of them she didn't have a clue and Elvis didn't bother to introduce her.

She sat down next to Elvis and she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She looked at him for some reassurance and got a tight smile in return. "It'll be okay, just tell us everything that you can remember okay?"

Elvis passed her a set of pictures. "We just need to see if you can identify him from any of these." He told her.

She spotted him straight away, she'd never forget him no matter how much she wanted to. "Him." She whispered, pointing him out to Elvis.

"And the man he was with? The one with the burns." Elvis prompted.

She stared at the pictures again, but it was hard to look anywhere other than at the face of the man she wished she could forget. "He was the one with the burns. The other one that I thought I recognised from Kenya isn't here." She said eventually.

"Are you sure?" Someone asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

They all started talking again around her, she didn't hear a word they said. She just sat there, staring at the face that had haunted her nightmares for months, until Elvis pulled the pictures away from her.

While she'd not been paying attention someone had loaded the hospital CCTV footage up on a projector screen. She was watching herself as she spoke to Jess, then went into the cubicle. Her stomach flipped as she watched it. A couple of minutes later she watched herself come back out and run into Paul. She disappeared off the camera with Paul, and then a few seconds later both of the men ran out with their hoods pulled up to hide their faces. She found herself repeating the details of what had happened on autopilot as they asked her questions.

"We've checked all of the cameras. They kept their faces hidden." Someone explained. "We did get the plates of the car that dropped them off which came back as stolen. We've put an alert out for it, hopefully it'll be spotted somewhere. I understand this isn't the first time that you had seen him?"

Molly shook her head. "I… um… when I first got back I used to see him around my parents flat in London a lot. I thought I was imagining it, my head wasn't in a good place." She admitted.

"You should've informed us straight away." The older man who had been quiet up until now said. He sounded annoyed. "He's potentially had months to prepare for whatever it is he's planning. If we'd known we could've put a stop to it. If we'd had all the facts from the beginning then we might not be in this mess now."

"I'm sorry… I..I um.." She whispered. She was mortified, it was like being a child and getting told off at school all over again. She turned and looked to Elvis for some kind of reassurance.

"With all due respect Sir." Elvis cut in, he was certain speaking to the brigadier like this was going to come back to bite him at some point but he couldn't stop himself. "She didn't have any reason to believe that it could've been him, we told her that we'd successfully captured all of the insurgents from the compound. Why would she have any reason to believe that one of them might be in the UK let alone following her? " He wasn't about to let them make Molly feel any worse than he was sure she already did.

There was an awkward pause for a moment before anyone spoke, Elvis wondered if he was about to get a bollocking.

"The man you've identified has been on our radar for awhile." The man sitting beside him explained after no one else started speaking. "As far as we knew he was in Kenya somewhere, so he may have been involved and you just didn't see him. We weren't actually aware he was back in the country, it looks like he came in from Ethiopia with a fake passport. There's a chance the other man was with him so we'll go back through the details of everyone on the flight and see if we can come up with anything."

"We can't be sure that they are targeting you. We haven't got enough information to go on at the moment." Elvis explained. "So until we know then we need to be careful."

"What does that mean?" She asked. She didn't even want to know the answer.

"We'll arrange some additional protection." He didn't really answer her question, and she could see from the look on his face he'd avoided it on purpose. "It might be a good thing, if they do try something then we'll be there to catch them this way."

"We'll carry on trying to get a location on them." Someone said. "If we can get some more intel together so we can narrow it down a bit then we can put a stop to it before it gets that far."

Elvis nodded. "We can't really do anything else until then." It had been agreed that special forces would be involved, if they managed to get enough intel together to do anything. It wasn't looking promising though.

Molly had sat next to him in silence, except when she'd been directly asked a question the whole way through. He'd been thankful that Charles hadn't been there as she'd described what had happened to her in Kenya in painful detail. He finally understood why she'd been so reluctant about talking to Charles- she was trying to save him the pain of picturing it.

She'd still barely said two words by the time they got back home again. He hadn't tried to talk to her, he'd realised five minutes into the journey that she hadn't heard a word he was saying. She climbed out of the car and walked into the house in silence, not noticing the way Elvis had double checked the empty street just incase, before he followed her inside.

She sat down on the sofa, exactly where she'd been this morning, only then she'd still had a little bit of hope left that this might all blow over. The meeting at Whitehall had destroyed that and just left her anxious and on edge.

She'd turned her phone back on in the car and Charles had left her several messages. She guessed from the way Elvis was grimacing at his phone as he stood in the doorway Charles had been after him too.

"One of us is going to have to tell him." Elvis said eventually. "This is serious now."

"I know." Molly nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly. "I'll call him back. I just need a minute to work out what I'm supposed to say."


	33. Chapter 33

She'd sent Charles a text asking him to ring her when he had a chance. She didn't want to ring him incase he was in the middle of something, but now she was just sat staring anxiously at her phone waiting for it to ring. Elvis was watching the traffic passing by out of the window closely. It wasn't helping to settle her nerves.

The phone started to ring and she picked it up and took it through to the kitchen. She didn't want to go too far, she knew Charles was going to want to talk to Elvis to get answers to the questions he was going to have and she wasn't going to be able to answer.

"Hi." She didn't know what to say now he was actually on the phone. Did she really have to tell him?

"Is everything okay?" He asked. He'd only got her text half an hour ago and he'd been running through every possible scenario in his head winding himself up more and more until he'd had to give in and he'd made his excuses to go and phone her.

"Yes." She answered automatically. She hesitated for a second. "Well, no actually."

He felt his heart sink. "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath to try and steady herself before she spoke. Was it too late to make Elvis tell him instead? "Promise me you're not going to freak out? Elvis has got it all sorted, I just hate feeling like I'm lying to you and I wanted to tell you the truth."

He really didn't like the sound of this. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. It'll be okay." He promised her. She was really starting to worry him now.

"What did Elvis tell you when you spoke to him?" She asked.

"He just said something had happened at work, with one of your patients?" He frowned. "Molly what's going on?"

"The um… the patient that Elvis was talking about, they um… well they think it might be him." She whispered. She could barely say the words out loud. "The man who took me from the clinic in Kenya."

"What do you mean it might be him?" Charles asked. He felt like his stomach had dropped through the floor. She sounded so frightened and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

"Elvis took me to London today to be interviewed to see if I could ID him. That's why I didn't answer my phone when you called."

"Is Elvis there?" His voice was strained.

"I'm sorry Charles. I didn't want you to worry! I thought it'd be okay." She mumbled, opening the kitchen door to find Elvis.

"It'll be okay." He told her, she sounded like she was about to start crying. "It's all going to be fine, I just need to talk to Elvis for a moment okay?"

"Okay." She agreed, holding the phone out to Elvis. He took it off her like she'd just handed him a grenade that was about to explode.

"Charlie." He grimaced, going into the kitchen and shutting the door behind him so Molly wouldn't hear.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?" Charles snapped. He was pacing back and forth in front of his tent, too worked up to stand still, he could see two section eyeing him nervously from the corner of his eye. He didn't even care about the fact they'd been gossiping about him. He couldn't believe Elvis had kept this from him.

"That you're in Nepal and there's nothing you can do." Elvis shot back. "We didn't even know if it was a real problem until this morning."

"Cut the crap Elvis!" Charles was furious, made worse by the fact he knew Elvis was right. He was trapped in Nepal and there was nothing to he could do. "How bad is it?"

Elvis glanced over his shoulder, checking Molly hadn't followed him into the kitchen. He lowered his voice anyway just incase she could hear him. "At least two, potentially a lot more of them from the compound where she was being held. We went to Whitehall today to see the brig. One of them was on the radar but the other one wasn't. Molly treated him for chemical burns- with what we found in the compound in Kenya there's a good chance that they are planning some sort of attack."

"Shit." Charles whispered in shock.

"I um… well I haven't told Molly yet, I only found out a few minutes ago, but they went back through the hospital CCTV from the last few weeks. He's been there quite a few times, just sort of lurking in the corridors and watching." He held his breath as he waited for Charles to say something.

"Watching the hospital or watching her?"

"It's hard to tell." Elvis told him.

"You think they might be targeting her don't you?" He felt his breath catch in his throat.

"We can't rule it out." Elvis admitted. "We've organised close protection and she obviously can't go back to work until we've sorted this out."

"How long have you known about this?" Charles asked, he was still pissed off that he was only finding out about this now.

"Well it all sort of came out when I had to go and pick her up from work." Elvis said slowly. He knew he hadn't heard the end of this from Charles, which was probably fair enough. If the situation had been reversed he'd have been fuming. "She said she had been seeing him when she was still living with her parents though, she thought she was seeing things. We don't know- she might've been but it could've been him." The more that he thought about it the more stressed he was getting.

"And you didn't think that maybe this was something I needed to know about?" He asked sarcastically.

"There was nothing that you could do- and there still isn't now- I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else." Elvis sighed.

Charles was silent for a minute and Elvis wondered if maybe he'd lost his signal. "Have you got any leads on where he might be?" Charles asked eventually.

"No." Elvis admitted. "They got the plates off the car but it's stolen so there's no way to trace it back to him. The boys are working on it though."

That made him feel a bit better, but only a tiny bit. If there was anyone he was going to pick to look after Molly, other than himself, it would be Elvis and his team. He just wished he was there with her.

"How's Molly coping with this?" He asked.

Elvis hesitated. "Honestly? I don't think it's actually sunk in yet." He admitted, he wasn't about to go into the details of her nightmares with Charles. The less he knew at this point the better. He'd only end up driving himself insane with worry.

"What am I supposed to do Elvis?" He asked hopelessly. He should be there with her, to hold her and tell her it was all going to be okay. Instead he was stuck thousands of miles away, barely able to get a phone signal to call her and having to put his faith in Elvis to do it for him.

"You know I'm not the best person to ask about things like this." Elvis sighed. "I'm going to go and give the phone back to her. You need to talk to her, I've tried but we both know she doesn't really want to have to talk to me about this."

"Thanks Elvis." Charles sighed. He could hear them talking in the background as Elvis handed the phone over to her.

"Hi." She said quietly. Elvis flashed her a reassuring smile as he disappeared up the stairs to leave her to it. "I am sorry. Really."

"You haven't got anything to be sorry for." He replied softly. "I'm sorry if I sounded angry earlier, I was just worried about you. Well I still am."

"I should've told you, Elvis wanted to. I just didn't want to give you another problem to worry about while you're out there." She sighed. She was getting a headache from all the stress.

"You're not a problem for me to worry about. I love you Molly, if there's something bothering you of course I want you to tell me."

"I know." She felt stupid now for not telling him sooner. "I was just hoping it would all be sorted and then I could tell you it was nothing to worry about."

"It doesn't usually work like that I'm afraid." He could see Fingers and Brains lurking, waiting to talk to him. He waved them away, hoping they'd go and find Lane or Kingy instead. He didn't need the added stress of whatever it was that had gone wrong this time. "You're in safe hands with Elvis. I know I complain about him a lot but he's brilliant at his job. I'd trust him with my life."

"I won't tell him you said that. I don't think I could handle it if he was any more full of himself." She joked.

Charles laughed quietly. "That's probably for the best. Seriously though, whatever he says, just do it. He knows what he's doing. How are you holding up with all of this?"

"I've been better." She admitted. She wasn't going to give him all the gory details of her nightmares or admit that she'd taken to sleeping in his shirts because they still smelled like him and it made her feel safe. "I miss you."

"I know. I really miss you too. Not much longer now. I'll be home before you know it." He forced himself to try and sound cheerful. He had been told that it was a matter of weeks rather than months before they'd be going home so he was optimistic. "Then you'll be wishing I was out of your way again."

"Never." She answered straight away. The truth was they both knew it was just a matter of time before he'd get deployed again and they'd be faced with having to deal with this separation all over again.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? I could see if maybe I could get back earlier?" He was thinking it through in his head, wondering if there was anything he could do.

"Don't be ridiculous Charles." She sighed. "It's fine. I'm fine. By the time you get back here Elvis will have done whatever it is he does and caught the guy anyway so it's pointless."

"I feel like I should be there." He was frustrated. She shouldn't have been going through this alone.

"It's fine, really." She desperately wished he'd come home too but she wasn't about to ask him to do that for her. She'd put her faith in Elvis that he'd have it sorted out before it was really a problem.

"Promise me you'll call me if anything happens?" He asked.

"I promise. I'll call you tomorrow anyway?"

"Yeah that sounds good." He smiled. It might give him some motivation to get through another day at least. "Tell Elvis to call me if he hears anything to? No more secrets."

"No more secrets." She agreed. "I'll let you get on now, I need to go and see what Elvis is up to."

"Okay." He agreed reluctantly. "Stay safe and listen to Elvis. I love you."

"I love you too." This was why she'd been trying to avoid calling him. She hated having to say goodbye all over again.


	34. Chapter 34

"Where do you think you're going?" Elvis asked, frowning at her as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She looked like she was dressed for work and he didn't like where this was headed.

"To work Elvis." She couldn't stop herself rolling her eyes. "I can't sit in this house like some kind of prisoner for the rest of my life."

"It's not forever, it's just until we catch him." Elvis argued.

"Unless you've got some major news to tell me on that then I'm going. It's been nearly three weeks Elvis!" She argued. "Have you found anything that suggests he's still here?"

"No." Elvis admitted reluctantly. "But we also haven't found anything that says he's not!" He was still a little bitter about the whole thing, despite their best efforts the man seemed to have literally vanished into thin air. They couldn't find anything to help them locate him- the one hope they'd had, the plates off the stolen car had been found on the side of the road two days after the meeting in Whitehall. They hadn't even managed to get a fingerprint off the plates either. He could still hear Charles in his ear shouting about it now.

"Exactly." Molly said. "I need to do my job Elvis, they're not going to wait around forever for me to come back."

"Fine." He sighed, resigned to the fact he couldn't argue with her on this one. She did have a point. "But I'm coming with you."

"You can't exactly follow me around all day Elvis, be reasonable!"

"I'm coming or you're not going." He saw her glance towards the door as if she was thinking about trying to make a run for it. It almost made him smile thinking about it, he'd like to see her try and outrun him. "I'm obviously not going to be following you around, I'll sit in the cafe or something, I don't know. Just incase something happens. You can't go on your own though."

"You're going to sit in the hospital cafe for eight hours?" She laughed. "Yeah, good one." There was no way he'd last more than an hour or two, then she'd be free to get on with her day in peace.

"You seem to think I'm joking." He was already putting his shoes and jacket on. "Trust me I've spent a lot longer in much worse places."

"Fine, whatever." She rolled her eyes at him again. "Just get a move on or I'm going to be late."

He'd been seriously jumpy on the short walk to the hospital, she could see him out of the corner of her eye constantly scanning the street and eyeing up every person they passed, just incase. It wasn't helping to settle her nerves about going back.

"You know Charlie isn't going to be happy about this." Elvis grimaced. He'd already had to put up with Charles pulling him apart over the fact they hadn't managed to catch the guy yet, he didn't really need another earful from him about this. "It's not too late, we could just turn around and go back?"

"Nice try Elvis." She answered him sarcastically. "You leave Charles to me."

"Well, it's your funeral I guess." Elvis agreed reluctantly, following her inside and going to find himself somewhere to sit for a while. Charles was going to have a fit when he found out, there was no doubt about that. He didn't like to admit it but she did have a point- they'd got no intel at all and nothing to go on to try and find the guy and as much as he hated the idea they might be talking about months before they managed to track him down. She couldn't stay hiding in the house forever just incase.

"You're back, thank god!" Jess pounced on her the second she walked into the staffroom. She grabbed Molly in a tight hug. "I've missed you, I was going to come round again but I saw that your body guards car was still in the drive so I thought I'd better not."

Molly winced. "I'm sorry about him. He didn't mean to be rude… he's just, well you know." She managed to free herself from the vice like grip Jess had her in.

"A bit of a dick?" Jess suggested.

Molly laughed. "I was going to say stressed, but I guess you could put it that way! What have I missed?"

"Not much, they've hired a few extra security guards. I think it's something to do with a fight that broke out on nights the other week. Mind you they don't do much, somethings never change!" Jess laughed. "You ready to get going?"

Molly nodded, she suddenly felt a bit nervous. "It's like I've never been away."

It had been a quiet and uneventful shift, much to her relief. She could feel she was a little bit on edge, constantly checking over her shoulder and looking out for him. She did think that might have more to do with Elvis putting her on edge than anything else.

"Well, I've got to admit I'm surprised you're still here." She joked, walking over to Elvis who had tucked himself away in the corner of the cafe. "See, it's all good. Nothing happened!"

"For today." Elvis muttered under his breath. "Come on, let's get home." He was on his feet and headed for the door straight away. He'd been tense and on edge sitting there all day, eyeing every person who'd walked in as a potential threat. It was exhausting.

"You know, I'll be okay on my own. You don't have to come with me tomorrow." She ventured. She saw the muscles in his jaw tighten.

"Don't push it Molly." He answered tightly. What he really wanted to do was keep her in the house where he knew she was safe until this was all sorted.

She bit her lip, staying quiet. She could see it was stressing him out even having to walk back down the road to the house and she did feel guilty for putting him in that position in the first place.

She disappeared upstairs to have a shower as soon as they got home, needing to wash the day off her.

Elvis flopped down on the sofa and allowed himself to breathe properly for the first time since they'd left the house. He didn't like all of the unknown elements of this situation- they still didn't know who the guy was, what he wanted or what he was planning and that made it very difficult to judge what the risk actually was.

He dug his phone out of his pocket to call Charles. He'd texted him to let him know Molly was going to work, he didn't really feel like he could keep any more secrets from his friend and it was good to be able to talk it through with Charles who at least understood why he was so worried.

"Everything okay?" Charles asked the second he answered the phone.

"Yeah." Elvis answered. "All absolutely fine."

"Then why do you sound so worried?" Charles frowned.

"She wants to go back on her own tomorrow." Elvis explained.

"What do you think?" Charles asked. "You know more than I do about this whole thing."

Elvis paused for a second to think. "There's too many unknowns, that's the bit that's bothering me." He admitted. "We still don't know where he is, what he's planning or even who he actually is."

Charles went quiet. "I trust your judgement Elvis. Do whatever you think is best. I've got some good news for you anyway."

"Oh?"

"I've just had confirmation we're flying home tonight." He was so relieved this tour was finally over he couldn't even put it into words.

"Oh thank god." Elvis breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you want me go and get Molly so you can tell her?"

"No." Charles answered quickly. "I thought maybe I'd surprise her?"

"Okay." Elvis said slowly. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing crazy." Charles laughed. "I just wondered if maybe you'd come and get me while she's at work? If you think you can keep your mouth shut that it."

"I think I can probably manage that." Elvis agreed. "I guess she's going to work on her own then?"

"Unless you think you can talk one of your lot into doing a spot of babysitting? She might not even have to know that they're there?" Charles suggested.

Elvis laughed quietly. "I like the way you think. I'll sort something out."

"If she finds out it wasn't my idea." Charles laughed. "I've gotta go, we need to start packing up. I'll see you tomorrow I guess!"

"Yeah, will do."


	35. Chapter 35

Elvis had given her surprisingly little grief about going to work on her own, which had only made her suspicious. She'd kept an eye out for him, expecting to spot him tucked away in the corner of the waiting room somewhere where he didn't think shehe could see him, but so far he'd proved her wrong. It was nice. Things actually felt like they might be going back to normal if he didn't feel like he needed to be watching over her 24/7. She didn't get much time to dwell on it, they were a doctor and two nurses down and it was a busy day, everyone was feeling the strain.

It was well over halfway through her shift by the time she got to stop for long enough to take a breath. She couldn't wait to get home and get into her bed.

"What are you still doing here?" She frowned as Jess walked towards her. "Your shift was supposed to finish hours ago!"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. I've got a hot date tonight too, bloody typical isn't it! I've been waiting weeks for this and now we've got no bloody staff and I'm going to be stuck here with you instead… no offence or anything."

"None taken." Molly laughed. "Just go, we'll be fine. It's starting to quieten down a bit now." She wasn't convinced that was actually true by the looks of the waiting room, but she knew she'd never get Jess out of the building if she thought she was leaving them in the lurch.

"I can't." Jess hesitated.

"Yes you can." Molly ordered. "This place isn't going to fall apart just because you're not here for a couple of hours."

"You're amazing, I could kiss you!" Jess squeaked, grinning. She grabbed Molly and hugged her tightly.

"Yeah okay, enough of that." Molly laughed. "Now tell me about this date!"

"Well, his name is Carl and he's a fireman. I don't know a lot else, one of the other nurses set me up with him- but I'll make sure I report back tomorrow!" Jess said excitedly. "Hey, maybe we'll be double dating with you and Charles soon!"

Molly laughed. She couldn't imagine Charles agreeing to that, but she'd have a good go at persuading him. "Go! Get ready, that poor man won't know what's hit him!"

"Oh I know!" Jess winked. "Thanks again, you're a lifesaver Mol!" She called over her shoulder as she headed for the door. Molly was still grinning as she read the information she'd been given on her next patient.

When she heard the first scream she didn't really think anything of it, it wasn't exactly unusual and she knew someone would come and get her if they needed her. She'd finally managed to make it as far as the staffroom for a long overdue five minutes sit down and a cup of tea.

It was the sound of shouting followed by another scream that made her abandon her cup of tea to see what was going on. Jess had been right, the extra security that had been hired were next to useless, so no doubt she'd find herself having to sort whatever it was out again.

She glanced out into the waiting room as she walked out of the staffroom, hesitating for a second as she realised it was completely deserted, as was the nurses station. She edged further forward, her heart hammering in her chest. She'd got a really bad feeling.

"Charlie!" Elvis grinned, seeing his friend come in to the terminal. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see you." He gave him a quick hug.

"Ditto on that one." Charles laughed. "How's things?"

Elvis wasn't paying any attention to a word he was saying anyway. He'd spotted Georgie across the room, watching her intently. He'd nearly jumped a foot in the air when his phone started ringing, he could see Charles smirking at him.

"Spanner, is everything okay? I thought you'd be at the hospital?" Elvis frowned. Charles took a step closer to him, trying to hear what was going on.

"Not exactly Boss." Elvis suddenly became aware of the noise of a car in the background. "I'm on my way to the hospital now. Where are you?"

"I'm at the base picking Charles up." Elvis answered. "What's wrong?" He glanced back at Charles and noticed Georgie was now standing next to him. They both looked worried.

"I got a call this morning, the police found what we think is where the guy Molly saw is staying. I've just been over there with the boys now." Spanner explained. "It's not good Boss."

Elvis took a couple of steps away from Georgie and Charles, lowering his voice. "What do you mean by not good."

"Weapons. Lots of them, like enough for a small army." Spanner explained, pausing for a second to concentrate on where he was going. "And a lot of pictures of Molly, floor plans of the hospital, explosives… everything you can imagine. There was a lot more than just two of them staying there that's for sure. I've tried calling her and left some messages but I can't get a hold of her."

"Fuck." Elvis breathed. "I'm on my way now. I've got Charles and Georgie with me. Call me with any updates." He saw Georgies surprise at the sound of her name but she didn't say anything.

"Yes boss." Spanner answered, hanging up the phone as he went flying through another set of red lights.

"We need to go, now." Elvis barked, running back to the car with Georgie and Charles right behind him.

"Elvis whats going on?" Georgie called, running after him.

"I'll explain on the way, we need to go!" He shouted back over his shoulder.

She wasn't really sure what to do. She'd crept up the corridor, as far as she dare go. She could hear footsteps and at least three men talking to each other in hushed voices and she had caught a glimpse of the guns they had slung over their shoulders. She strained her ears, trying to see if she could recognise their voices. The sound of footsteps coming towards her sent her scrambling for cover. She dived through the doors into resus, hiding on the floor in the corner behind some shelves.

She could just see someone on the floor behind another shelving unit to her left, the blue material of the scrubs catching her eye. She didn't dare move to go and see if they were okay. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. She dug her phone out of her pocket, praying it hadn't run out of battery, she'd meant to plug it in to charge earlier and totally forgotten. She breathed a sigh of relief, she'd probably got enough battery left to call Elvis quickly.

"Molly?" She had a moment of confusion as to why Charles would be answering the phone- had she called him by accident?

"Charles? What are you doing?" She hissed in surprise. Then she had to remind herself that this really wasn't the time for questions. "Listen. Somethings happened I don't know what. There's at least three of them, they've got guns. I don't know what's happened or if anyone's injured." She sounded a lot calmer than she felt as she hissed into the phone.

"Are you okay?" Charles asked, she could hear the concern in his voice. "I was coming back to surprise you, then Elvis got a call. Are you safe?"

"I'm fine. I've found somewhere to hide." She reassured him. She wasn't so sure it was the truth though. She could hear the voices outside the door getting closer. She was going to have to hang up. "Just get here. Please." She pleaded.

"It's okay, it's all going to be fine. We're on the way." Charles tried to reassure her but he couldn't hide the fear in his voice. "Just stay on the phone. The police will be on the way too. Someone's coming to get you out of there."

She cowered back further into the corner as the voices got louder. "I'm going to have to go they're coming in. I love you." She whispered, disconnecting the phone call and switching her phone off. She didn't want him trying to ring her back and her phone giving away where she was.

She was just going to have to sit tight and hope that Charles and Elvis found her before anyone else did.


	36. Chapter 36

Elvis pulled the car into the front of the hospital, the tyres screeching as he took the corner. He wasn't wasting any time braking. He was out of the car and running, Charles and Georgie close behind him, the second he spotted the rest of his special forces team kitting up ready to go in. A police officer had tried to stop him just before he got there and he'd very nearly lost his temper, thankfully one of the boys had waved him through before he'd done something stupid. He'd already strapped himself into his vest by the time Charles and Georgie caught up. There was a hive of activity behind them as people got ready for what was about to come.

"You're not going in there." Elvis shook his head. He could see from the look on Charles's face what he was thinking.

"I can help!" Charles argued.

Elvis shook his head. "We've been preparing for this for weeks. Let us do our jobs." He reminded his friend. It wasn't strictly speaking true- they hadn't prepared for this exact situation because they hadn't known it was coming, but they had been preparing for something similar and right now that was going to have to do.

Charles looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but Georgie put a hand on his arm and steered him away.

"Right boys, on me." Elvis barked, checking his radio was working. He was just thankful that they'd been on standby and ready to go, he didn't want to waste a second. "This isn't ideal, it's all gone pete tong fellas, we haven't had time to prepare and we've got no idea who is in there and what they're planning. Stay safe okay?" They all nodded, pulling on their helmets, goggles and balaclavas, their fingers by the triggers of their guns ready.

He was caught on the way to the door by a policeman, who quickly removed his hand after Elvis glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?" The Officer asked. "You can't go in there!"

"Captain Harte, Special forces." Elvis told him impatiently, still edging towards the door. "We've been leading the operation on this. No one goes in without my say so. Get your boys on the door ready for anyone we send out."

They didn't hang around to see what his reply was, Elvis waved them all forward and they crept towards the entrance. They were all aware that time wasn't on their side with this one.

The glass of the front doors was smashed and crunched under their feet as they made their way through into the deserted reception area. On the signal from Elvis they split, peeling off in two directions to clear the place. It was painfully slow progress, checking each nook and cranny to make sure they hadn't missed anyone. They'd found quite a few people hiding, one group had looked at him in terror as he'd pulled open the door of the supply cupboard they'd been hiding in. He'd ushered them out silently, and they'd sprinted for the exit after a moment's hesitation, Elvis had carried on moving forward conscious of the fact they still hadn't found Molly.

"Two insurgents dead boss. We've cleared the staff room and the cubicles." Elvis heard in his ear.

"Roger that." He answered quietly. They carried on moving forwards towards the doors that led through to the resus, the other boys slotted in behind as they made their way around the other side of the nurses station, crouched low as they headed for the doors. They paused either side, all looking at Elvis for the signal to move. They knew that the rest of the insurgents had to be behind these doors, they'd cleared the rest of the building, they just didn't know who else might be in there with them. Elvis counted them down silently on his fingers.

Three

Two

One

They burst through the doors, coming face to face with another three insurgents who went running for cover as they saw them come in. Elvis scanned the room, looking for Molly, as they crept forward again. He couldn't let it distract him, they still had a job to finish.

The first shot came out of nowhere, none of them had spotted the guy lying on the floor hidden by one of the beds. There were two shots quickly fired in return and then he laid motionless on the ground. One down, two to go.

He hadn't paid much attention when he'd come to get the keys from Molly to just how complicated this bloody place was. It was a maze of corridors, dead ends and hiding places that made it a complete nightmare for anything like this.

Another poorly aimed shot flew past him, shattering the glass of the windows behind him this time. He heard someone hiss in pain to his left and he rushed around the other side of the shelves, only to find Molly on the other end of his gun.

"Oh thank fuck." He breathed. "Is there anyone else in here?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so." She whispered. She couldn't believe how relieved she felt seeing him.

"Stay here." He was gone again. She could just she the soles of his shoes around the other side of the shelves she was hiding behind. She glanced down at her arm which was bleeding where a couple of the splinters of glass had hit her.

Another shot came flying in their direction, this time from behind the door of the storage cupboard. Elvis ducked down trying to find some cover. The door was pushed open and he seized the opportunity to take his shot. He heard another shot to his right and saw another insurgent drop to the floor. Another shot flew past from the direction of the cupboard and he turned his full attention back to that. They'd got him outnumbered, it was only a matter of time before they got him, or maybe even in an ideal world he'd surrender, but there was still the chance one of them would get hurt in the meantime.

"Has anyone got a clear shot?" He murmured into the radio.

"Negative." Came the response. They all shifted positions slightly, trying to keep themselves covered and get a slightly better shot at the same time.

It all happened so quickly it barely registered in his head what had happened. As the door opened he'd finally had a clear shot, but as he'd pulled the trigger things seemed to end up in slow motion, the man he'd just shot at turning and pulling a woman in front of him and straight into the path of the bullet.

Elvis only realised as he watched her fall to the ground, blood pouring from her neck that it was Molly's friend Jess. Someone fired another shot, which sent the man who'd held her staggering backwards and then to the floor, but Elvis was still rooted to the spot watching in horror. Molly had appeared from somewhere, her hands turning red as she knelt in the pool of blood forming around her friend, frantically trying to stem the bleeding.

He was vaguely aware of the fact he should be helping his team as they checked that they'd successfully cleared the room, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Molly. All he could see was the blood pooling on the floor.

"It's okay, you're going to be fine." Molly repeated, choking back a sob. "You've got that hot date to go on, remember?" She wasn't sure that Jess could hear her. She was gasping for breath and blood was pouring out all over the floor despite her best efforts. "Someone help me!" She screamed.

One of Elvis's team finally came to her aid, scooping Jess up and lifting her onto an empty bed.

"Just stay with me, it's all going to be okay." She pleaded. "I need you to go and get me some help in here! Now!" She shouted, the desperation taking over. She couldn't move her finger, which was currently sort of plugging the hole in her friend's neck. She could see Jess fighting for every breath but she couldn't do anything without risking her bleeding out even more than she already was.

Georgie was at her side a minute later, and she'd never felt so relieved. She hadn't even seen her come in.

"What happened?" She asked, reaching behind Molly to grab some gauze.

"Gunshot wound to the neck. No exit wound." Molly told her quickly. "Ready? Pressure." She pulled her finger away as Georgie put pressure on the wound. Jess groaned in pain, then suddenly went quiet.

Molly reluctantly went to check for a pulse, trying to ignore the fact that she was soaked in her friends blood. "I've not got a pulse." She choked, starting CPR. "I need someone to bag her!"

"Spanner! Get over here!" Georgie shouted, she was relieved he did as he was told. "Push down on this." He took over from her, leaving her free to help Molly.

"Come on, please." Molly whispered, continuing with her CPR and quietly hoping for a miracle. "You don't get to fucking die on me."

Georgie glanced at her watch, trying to work out how long it had been. "Molly, I think you should stop." She suggested gently, she nodded at Spanner who removed his hands, glancing down at the blood that soaked them. Georgie stopped and took a step back, but Molly continued with her CPR anyway.

"You don't get to die on me Jess, please." She whispered, the tears running down her face and mixing with the blood that seemed to be smeared everywhere. "That bloody fireman is out there somewhere waiting for you."

Georgie shook her head slowly at Charles, who'd just come in behind them, he'd been outside ordering the police around, needing to feel like he was doing to something to help. He nodded in acknowledgement, and Georgie and Spanner backed away.

"Molly." He said gently, putting his hands on her arms. "She's gone. You need to stop."

"She can't." Molly cried, still frantically trying to bring her friend back, trying to think of something else they could try, she didn't want to have to admit they were out of options. "We can't just give up on her."

"Molly." Charles was firmer this time, his grip on her arms tightening and lifting her away from the bed, he knew there was no way she was going to come away willingly. He was no doctor but even he knew from the amount of blood that covered Molly and the floor this wasn't something her friend was going to come back from. The expression on her face told him she knew that too, but she didn't seem to be able to stop her hands from doing the compressions. If she stopped she was admitting Jess was gone and she was never going to be ready to do that. "She's gone Molly." His own voice cracked as he took in the look of despair on her face.

He held on tight as she fought against him, trying to fight her way back to Jess. She eventually stilled and her head sagged against his chest, a strangled sob escaping her lips. His arms went from restraining her to holding her up as she crumbled against him, he could feel the silent sobs that wracked her entire body as she fell apart.

"She wasn't even supposed to be here." She choked out, twisting her fingers into his jumper to try and hold herself up, her entire body leant against his and her head buried in his neck.

Elvis was still stood at the foot of the bed, watching in horror, unable to make himself move or even look away. Georgie put a firm hand on his shoulder, taking him by the hand and turning him around, guiding him towards the door. He followed her in a daze. She didn't stop pulling him along until they were outside, and even then he just stopped and stared at her as she reached up to pull his helmet and balaclava off, taking his gun out of his trembling hands. She reached up to undo his body armour and pulled it off him, he still didn't move or speak. She'd never seen him like this, it frightened her. She looked at him for a minute, trying to think of something to say- what was someone supposed to say in a situation like this?

"I killed her Georgie." He whispered in horror.


	37. Chapter 37

He wasn't really sure how they'd managed to get her back home. They'd spent a good half an hour standing in the deserted A&E department with Molly sobbing into his chest as he'd tried to hold onto her, with nothing he could say or do even slightly consoling her. In the end he'd scooped her up, carrying her back out of there in his arms. She'd laid across his lap in the back seat of Spanner's car, silent apart from the odd sob that escaped her. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Elvis and Georgie had disappeared, but if he was being honest it wasn't top of his priorities at that moment.

It had only taken a couple of minutes for them to get back to his house, he'd struggled to get the door open whilst holding on to Molly at the same time. Spanner had shot off again the second they were out of the car, he'd still got a lot to sort out back at the hospital, especially given the fact Elvis had gone awol on them. He'd apologised several times and promised to call Charles if he heard from Elvis.

As he stepped back inside his house it was as though he'd never left, except for the addition of some of Elvis's crap laying around on the floor. How many times had he imagined this moment while he'd been away? Walking back through his front door with Molly in his arms. Never in a million years had he considered the fact he might find himself coming home to a situation like this.

Molly put her hand out to steady herself as she took off her shoes, which were soaked through with blood, she left a blood stained hand print on the wall and stood staring at it blankly.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He put an arm around her, gently guiding her up the stairs. She'd gone with him wordlessly, her bottom lip still quivering a little as she sucked in a breath. He knew it was only a matter of time before she was going to completely lose it again.

He'd got just as much blood down him as she had, it had soaked through as he'd held her, but he could deal with that later. He was more worried about what was going on in Molly's head under the emotionless exterior.

She'd just stood and stared at him blankly once he'd got her in the bathroom, watching as he turned on the shower, then looked down at her hands that were stained red with blood. She knew no matter how many times she washed them she'd never truly manage to get it off her hands. She suddenly felt as though she was suffocating, catching sight of her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She couldn't see a single patch of her scrubs that wasn't covered in blood.

"I need to get them off." She choked out, frantically pulling the scrubs that seemed to be stuck to her skin. Her head was spinning and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Okay, deep breaths." Charles told her soothingly, helping her as she frantically pulled at her scrubs, the damp material clinging to her. He ended up having to rip the front of them to free her, she'd got herself in such a state there was no way he was ever going to manage to get the top over her head. Once he'd got her free he turned her around and pushed her gently into the shower. She stood there silently, watching as the water running down the drain turned red with her friends blood.

He'd managed to wash most of the blood off her, or at least he thought he had. She'd stood there, wrapped in the towel he'd put round her as he'd scrubbed his skin raw trying to get the blood off himself. He'd seen people get shot before, it was awful but an occupational hazard, the bit that was going to stay with him forever was the look on Molly's face as he'd pulled her away from her friends body.

They'd ended up in bed, she'd gone straight for one of his jumpers that was laying on the bed, pulled it on and then climbed under the covers. He'd followed her not wanting to leave her alone, and also because he wasn't even sure what day it was, he'd been awake so long and he was bloody knackered. He'd got in beside her and she'd wrapped herself around him like a vine, burying her face in his neck. He held her tight, feeling the silent sobs shake her body as she started to cry again.

It was such a relief to be back with her, and to feel her in his arms again, but he found himself feeling guilty for enjoying it. It hadn't been the reunion he'd hoped for, or spent weeks imagining, but he was back with her and she was safe and that was all that really mattered.

* * *

"Elvis wait!" Georgie shouted, running to catch up with him. She'd forgotten how bloody fast he could walk. He was headed across the hospital car park like he was going somewhere, she just wasn't sure where. "Where are you going?" She finally caught up with him, grabbing him by the arm.

He spun around to face her. "I don't know." He admitted. "I can't go back there." He wasn't going to go back to Charles's house, that was one thing he was sure of. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to look at Molly again after that, and he wouldn't blame her at all if she never wanted to see him again. He could still see the look of desperation on her face as she'd tried hopelessly to get her friend back.

He'd done that.

An innocent woman was dead because of him, he'd pulled the trigger. He'd been through it a hundred times in his head, trying to work out what had gone wrong. He'd been so convinced it was a clear shot, and then he'd watched her drop to the floor. That was all he could remember really, the feeling of horror as he'd watched her fall to the ground and the blood start to pool around her.

"This isn't your fault Elvis." Georgie told him softly, her hands on either side of his face forcing him to look at her. "You didn't shoot her on purpose." She knew she was fighting a losing battle. She could keep saying it until she was blue in the face, he'd already convinced himself he was to blame and he wasn't going to be easily persuaded otherwise

"I still did it though." He shook his head, trying to take a step back away from her but she went with him, her hands moving down to his shoulders. "I should've waited, made sure it was clear-".

"Elvis stop." She cut him off. "You're going to drive yourself insane. You were doing your job, we both know that things go wrong sometimes. It's sad, yes, and we'll always wish it hadn't happened but there is nothing you can do now that's going to change it." She tried to reason with him.

He shook his head. "If I'd done my job properly in the first place they never would've escaped from that compound in Kenya and we wouldn't be having this conversation." He pulled away from her again.

"Elvis this isn't your fault. It was bad luck, wrong place wrong time. It could've happened to any of us!" She called after him as he started to walk away from her. "Don't do this to yourself."

He hesitated for a moment, turning to face her with a haunted expression on his face. He looked like he was going to say something for a second, then he turned around, put his head down and started walking. He needed to put some space between them and give himself time to think.

* * *

He glanced down at Molly, who was finally sleeping, albeit rather restlessly as his phone started to vibrate quietly on the bedside table.

"Lane." He answered in a whisper. "Is everything okay?"

"Why are you whispering?" She asked.

"Molly's asleep." He explained. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Elvis." She said quietly. "He's a wreck boss."

"I'm not surprised." Charles sighed. "He'll be okay, I've known Elvis a long time. He just needs some time to process."

"I'm not sure this time." She hesitated. "I've tried calling him and he's not answering. None of the other special forces boys have heard from him either."

Charles glanced down at Molly as she stirred in her sleep again, a deep frown on her face. "I'll try and call him later. He'll be okay Lane, really. Shouldn't you be enjoying the fact that you're finally home?"

"I suppose so." She agreed reluctantly. "It doesn't feel right though, does it Boss?"

"No." He admitted. "It really doesn't, but there's not anything we can do now. Go and spend some time with your family, relax. You've earned it."

"Thanks boss. Promise me you'll call me if you hear anything?"

"I promise Georgie." He agreed.

"Okay." She hesitated again. "Good night boss."

"Night Lane."


	38. Chapter 38

There were a few blissful moments when she first woke up where she curled into Charles's chest and forgot all about everything that happened the day before. She simply enjoyed the fact that after what seemed like an eternity he was finally back with her.

Then it had hit her, and it was just as painful as if it had been happening right in front of her eyes all over again. Her breath caught in her throat and she pulled herself a fraction closer to Charles, his arms tightening around her in his sleep.

 _Jess_.

The images played themselves out in her mind, over and over again. She just kept seeing her crumple to the floor, and that noise she'd made as the shot Elvis had fired had hit her neck. She'd never forget it. She'd seen someone bleed out before, more than once, as much as she wished she hadn't. She was painfully aware of how much blood a person could lose and still survive, and yet she found it difficult to comprehend exactly how she'd lost her best friend. She might understand medically why, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever actually come to terms with the fact that she'd never get to tell Jess about her reunion with Charles, hear about the date with the mysterious fireman or even just listen to her complain about how overworked she was.

She shouldn't even have been there, that was the thing that kept going through her mind over and over again. Her shift had finished several hours before, but she'd stayed to help them all because that was her all over, and it had cost her her life. Maybe if she'd told her to go home earlier she would still be alive? Or if she hadn't insisted on going back to work and had let Elvis do his job? The list of possibilities was endless.

Charles stirred in his sleep next to her, his arms tightening around her again. She was momentarily distracted by just how much she'd missed him. She felt awful that this was what he'd had to come home to. She'd pictured running into his arms and making up for lost time. If she was being perfectly honest she was angry- angry that they'd not only robbed her of her best friend, but taken away the reunion she'd spent months dreaming of too. She knew Charles would never say anything, but she knew deep down he'd be disappointed too. They'd be talking on the phone for weeks about what they'd do when he got back. She'd make it up to him one day, but right now she couldn't even begin to think about it.

"Morning." He mumbled, half asleep as he pulled her even closer to him. He'd been looking forward to finally waking up with her in his arms again for weeks.

"Morning." Her lip quivered as he kissed the top of her head. She'd got Jess to thank for the fact she was laying here with him now, she would never have seen him again after he'd turned up at the hospital if it hadn't been for her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked tentatively, slowly starting to wake up. He was still exhausted and disorientated from having been awake so long and having such a stressful day the day before.

"I miss her so much already." She whispered, her voice cracking. "How can she be gone?"

He hadn't got a clue how to answer her question, he really wished he did. "I know." He said simply after a moment's hesitation. "And it's going to be like that for a long time, there's nothing I can do about it no matter how much I wish I could."

"You know we wouldn't be laying here now if it wasn't for her." She half smiled at the memory, although it caused the tears that had been welling in her eyes to spill down her face. "I was so determined that I was never going to see you again, I threw your number in the bin."

"I know." He nodded. "She called me, said you'd made a massive mistake and you didn't mean it, but you just hadn't figured that part out yet and I should have a little patience." He laughed quietly.

She smiled again, looking up at him. "That sounds about right."

He brushed the tears from her face, smoothing her hair back out of the way. "She loved you Molly, she was a brilliant friend and I wish I could've thanked her for everything she did… She sounded like an amazing person."

"She is." Molly answered quickly. "Was." That correction hurt, having to talk about her in the past tense. She wasn't ever going to get used to that.

"It's going to take a long time to get used to her being gone." He reminded her gently.

"I might have to find a new job." She commented after a moment of silence. "I think she might've been the only thing that kept me sane in that bloody place." She wasn't entirely sure she'd ever be able to set foot back in that place again if she was honest. Far too much had happened.

"You don't have to rush into anything just yet." He told her sensibly. "Just give yourself some time, a lot has happened in the last few days."

"This is why I need you here to stop me doing stupid things." She joked.

"Well I've got to be useful for something." He smiled.

Her face dropped again. "Maybe if I hadn't gone back to work, if I'd just let Elvis do his job… this might've not have happened." She whispered. It was the thought that just kept going round and round in her head.

Charles it his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up and forcing her to look at him. "Stop."He said firmly. "You can't think like that, you'll drive yourself insane."

"But what if it's the truth?" She asked quietly.

"It's not okay, just stop."

She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again, thinking. "Tell me about Nepal." She suddenly said.

He looked at her in confusion for a moment before he realised she was looking for a distraction. He could ramble on about Nepal for a while if that was going to stop her blaming herself.

"Well, I had a new recruit with two section. Georgie was mentoring her, well trying anyway. Felt like whatever I said Richards did the bloody opposite. Thought I was going to have grey hair by the time I got back." He joked. "I missed you though, that was the worst part."

"I know. I missed you too." She didn't think she could get any close to him, but she still attempted to pull herself closer.

"Well, I'm back now." He smiled. "And I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

"You'd better not."

He hesitated for a second before he spoke. "Elvis was really worried about you, even before everything that happened."

She froze for a second. "I think having nightmares about Kenya might be the least of my problems now." She muttered.

His phone rang on the bedside table and momentarily distracted him. It was Georgie again. He silenced it and turned back to Molly.

"You can't just keep ignoring it forever." He pointed out.

His phone started ringing again.

"Why don't you answer that?" She suggested, disentangling herself from him. "I need to shower." She was out of bed and through into the bathroom before he could speak. She locked the door behind herself, turned on the shower and then sat on the floor, biting back a fresh wave of tears she could feel coming. She could still see the blood on her hands. She might've washed it off but it was still there, and the feeling was suffocating.

* * *

"What do you mean he just turned up?" Charles asked.

"Exactly what I said." She sighed, pacing up and down the hallway of her parents house. "He just bloody turned up on the doorstep. I thought my Dad was going to punch him."

"I don't understand a lot of what Elvis does." Charles sighed. "But he's just turned up on your doorstep in Manchester?"

"Yep." Georgies reply was tense. She glanced over her shoulder, her Mum and Dad were peering around the kitchen door at her. "He's a mess Charles." She sighed.

"I've tried calling him. He won't answer."

"I know. I tried too." She told him. "What do I do? I've not seen him like this, ever. I'm used to him trying to convince me to bloody marry him again not just sitting there like he's looking right through me."

"I don't know." Charles admitted. He glanced over his shoulder to check Molly hadn't come back in. "I don't know what to do about any of this." He was way out of his depth, it was like Nepal all over again only a thousand times worse.

Georgie glanced up the stairs. "I'd better go. I'll call you back if I get anywhere."

"Call me if you need me Lane. I don't know what help I'll be but I can try." He wasn't sure which one of them was going to be harder to deal with- Molly or Elvis.

"Tell Molly to call me when she feels up to it?" Georgie asked.

"I will, don't expect it to be any time soon though." He told her reluctantly.

Georgie heard the floorboards creak in her bedroom. "Okay, I've got to go. Wish me luck."

"You're going to need it Lane." She'd already hung up the phone before he could speak.

He was pacing back and forth across her bedroom like some sort of caged animal. He looked like crap, as her Mum and Dad had been quick to point out when he'd turned up on the doorstep. She'd ushered them out of the way and let him, but he'd just sat on her bed and stared at the wall without saying a word. Eventually she'd started to panic and had phoned Charles hoping he'd give her some advice, but she guessed he'd got more than enough on his plate with Molly.

He stopped and looked at her for a moment, pausing mid way across the room, and for a money he almost looked surprised to see her stood there.

"I shouldn't have come here." He mumbled, reaching for his coat which was laying on the bed. "I'll go."

She took his coat out of his hands. "You're not going anywhere. Sit down Elvis."

He did as he was told, probably for the first time in his life and she sat herself down next to him. "I didn't know where else to go." He said quietly. "I just keep going over and over it in my head trying to work out what went wrong."

"Don't do it to yourself Elvis." Georgie sighed. "I don't know how many more times I can say it, and you know it's true, you didn't mean to shoot her. It was an accident."

"It doesn't make a difference. She still died George." He just kept playing back those couple of seconds in his head, seeing the shot and pulling the trigger. He'd been so convinced it was a clear shot- or at least he thought he had. He was starting to doubt himself. "I shouldn't have let Molly go back to work. We knew they were out there."

"They still would've done it Elvis. They had no way of knowing if she was in there or not." Georgie said gently. "The fact that you got there so quickly and you were ready saved a lot of people."

"It wasn't enough though, was it?" He sighed in defeat. "What's the point of any of it? They should never have been able to walk out of the compound in Kenya never mind get on a fucking plane and end up over here." He shook his head angrily.

"You're not superman Elvis, I think you need to remember that sometimes. You do what you can do. You still managed to find Molly and her her out of that compound. You saved her life and god knows how many other people yesterday."

"It doesn't feel like it." He looked down at his hands dejectedly. "Molly must hate me."

She scooted across the bed and put her arm around him, pulling him towards her. "I don't think that's true, she's upset. I think everyone just needs some time. It's a lot to take in."

He didn't say anything, just sitting there quietly as she held him tightly in an attempt to comfort him.


	39. Chapter 39

She stood at the front of the church, fumbling with the piece of paper which she'd written down what she wanted to stay on. She caught Charles's eye as she nervously scanned the crowd of expectant faces and he smiled reassuringly. She should've said no, well she had. She hadn't wanted to put herself in this position in the first place, but Jess's parents had called quite a few times and Charles had eventually managed to persuade her that it might be a good idea. She couldn't remember what he'd said in the end- something about closure? She'd believed him at the time, but now she was actually standing there in front of them all she was pretty sure he was full of shit. Was it too late to back out?

She looked down at the words on the crumbled paper in her hands and the words all blurred together as the tears filled her eyes. She wasn't sure she was actually going to be able to speak, never mind be able to read what she'd written. Why had she let them talk her into it?

She looked at Charles again, trying to convey to him silently that she needed rescuing, that despite what he'd told her in the car she couldn't do this, but she was momentarily distracted as she caught sight of Georgie and Elvis standing at the back of the packed church. Georgie smiled in reassurance, Elvis tried to do the same but it ended up looking more like a grimace.

She looked back down at her sheet of paper and cleared her throat.

"I… I um didn't get to know Jess for that long." She started. "But well, what can I say about her? Other than she drove us all insane at work." There were a few quiet laughs from her colleagues she could see dotted around. She forced herself to look back down at the words on the paper because she knew if she made eye contact with Charles she was going to fall apart and not be able to finish.

"She was a fantastic nurse-" her voice cracked and she choked back another sob. The words on the paper blurred as the tears filled her eyes. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down but she didn't feel like she could get the air into her lungs. "She was a fantastic nurse and…."

Charles was halfway out of his seat to go and help her when Georgie had passed him, walking quickly up to the front of the church she took the paper from her hand, one arm going around Molly to comfort her and hold her up at the same time as she carried on reading for her. She'd been standing there quietly willing Molly on to get through her reading but she could see she wasn't going to make it to the end of what she'd written, and she more than understood why.

She leaned against her, so thankful she'd come to her aid, as she listened to her start to read what she'd written. She looked up for a moment and caught Elvis's eye. He gave her a small, sad smile in return.

Georgie cleared her throat. "She was a fantastic nurse and all of the patients loved her as did the staff, but much more importantly she was my best friend. She was always there if I'd had a rough shift, or just had a bad day in general. She was also the person I'd go to when I'd had a good day and I needed someone to be excited with me." She read. "She kept me sane through the last few months and supplied me with endless amounts of coffee and chocolate to keep me going through those night shifts, and she finally made me get my life together. She knew what I wanted before I even did, and I might not have appreciated what she'd done at the time, but I'll spend the rest of my life being grateful to her for that."

Molly was sobbing into her shoulder by this point, and Georgie struggled to support her weight and concentrate on what she was doing. "I can't even begin to imagine the rest of my life without her, or even begin to think about who is going to keep me in line at work. I know if she was here she'd be making some sarcastic remark about not having time for me to go all soft on her, so I'll keep it short. She was one of the most amazing people I've ever met, and I don't think a day will ever go by where I won't miss her."

Georgie finished reading, folding the paper she shoved it into her pocket and pulled Molly with her away from the coffin at the front of the church and delivered her back into her seat beside Charles who shot Georgie a grateful look. She looked up for Elvis but he'd disappeared.

Molly sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder but Elvis and Georgie had disappeared from her line of vision and she reluctantly turned her attention back to the front of the church, Charles's arm around her and his hand on her knee holding her tight throughout.

It took a while for everyone to file out of the church afterwards, the location had already had to be changed once to fit everyone in who had wanted to be there, but they'd still struggled to fit everyone in. She knew it was a testament to what an incredible person her friend was, even if she would've killed them all for being so soppy and sentimental if she could've seen them.

She leaned into Charles as they stood outside the church. She could see him looking around trying to spot Elvis and Georgie. She'd been looking for them too but hadn't seen them since she'd rescued her in the church.

She was momentarily distracted as Paul arrived beside her, sweeping her up in a hug. "How have you been?" He asked. "We've missed you, it's not been the same."

She suspected that the fact things hadn't been the same had a lot more to do with what had happened there and the fact that everyone was still grieving than her absence, but she knew he meant well. "I'm getting there." She said slowly. "I'm not sure I'll be coming back though Paul." She'd been going over and over it in her head for days, trying to decide what to do. The idea of having to set foot back in that hospital made her feel physically sick and she had doubts about whether she'd even be able to get herself through the doors. She knew deep down that was probably the answer to her question.

"Don't rush into anything." He paused for a moment. "Things really aren't the same, especially with both of you gone, the place has never been so quiet. Everyone misses you."

"I miss everyone too." She sighed. "I don't know Paul, I'll think about it." She wasn't sure there was really anything to think about. If she went back there all she'd ever be able to see was Jess lying on the floor and that wasn't something she could face every day.

"Okay." He smiled, pulling her in for another hug. "I've got to go, but don't be a stranger okay?"

She smiled. "Thanks Paul."

"Are you okay?" Charles asked her quietly, stopping and turning to face her as they walked away from Paul. His fingers wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

She leaned into him, needing a few moments of comfort. "No." She whispered. His arms tightened around her.

"Stupid question really, wasn't it."

"Little bit." She smiled.

He was going to say something, but got distracted as he saw Georgie coming their way. He could just see Elvis behind her, sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He hadn't even realized Elvis was with Georgie in the church.

"Hi Boss, Molly." Georgie greeted him, Molly pulled away from him, his arm still around her waist as she turned to face Georgie.

"Georgie, I didn't really expect to see you here." Charles commented, his eyes wandering over to Elvis who was still sitting on the bench.

Georgie followed his eyes, her heart sinking a little as she looked at Elvis. "I thought it might help, I don't know, I think I might've been wrong." Elvis had been silent the entire way there, and had been almost shaking as he'd stood at the back of the packed church during the service. He'd bolted out of the door as she'd gone to help Molly and she'd found him sitting on a bench, staring at the picture of Jess on the front of the order of service.

"How's he doing?" Charles asked.

Georgie ran a hand through her hair, grimacing. "It's not good boss, I don't think I've ever seen him like this. He just sort of sits there all day… barely says a word. Even my mum and dad are worried about him, and well you know what they think of him."

"I'll go and talk to him." Charles sighed, quite what he was going to say he didn't know, but he was going to have to try.

Molly shook her head. "I'll go." She told them quietly.

Charles caught her arm as she went to walk away. "Are you sure?" He asked, he wasn't sure if this was the best idea. He'd been trying to get Molly to call Elvis for a while, thinking it might help make him feel better if he at least knew Molly wasn't blaming him for what had happened, but she'd point blank refused and he couldn't help but wonder what she was going to say to him now.

She nodded. "I'm sure. Just give us a few minutes, okay?" She set off across the churchyard without waiting for his approval.

Elvis didn't look up as she sat down on the bench next to him. Her stomach twisted with a fresh wave of grief as she looked at the picture he was sitting there staring at it. Jess grinned at her from the page, it was a picture she'd taken when they'd gone out one night, not long after she'd first started at the hospital. She hadn't wanted to go, but Jess as usual wouldn't take no for an answer. Going with her turned out to be one of the best decisions she'd made.

"I'm sorry." Elvis's voice was a hoarse whisper, thick with emotion. He looked up at Molly, his eyes red. "I shouldn't have come here, I don't know what Georgie was thinking… All of these people, they're all going to miss her so much and I'll because I… I took that bloody shot." It haunted him in his dreams every night, and he was pretty sure he was going to spend the rest of his life reliving it every time he closed his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault Elvis." She said softly. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes again, she'd cried so much she was surprised she could still manage to cry more.

"I pulled the trigger." He shook his head. "The bullet that killed her came from my gun. I know you're trying to make me feel better but spare me. There's no way this isn't my fault."

"You didn't see her Elvis. I was there, I know." She reached over and took the picture of Jess out of his hand. "I was right behind you Elvis, I didn't see her until she hit the floor either. She wasn't even supposed to be at work, you had no way of knowing she might be there."

"It's my job, I'm supposed to." He shook his head. "I just keep going over and over it in my head, watching her hit the floor." He didn't mention that the other image that had stuck with him was Charles pulling Molly away from her friends body.

"I know." She agreed quietly. "I do too, but us driving ourselves insane thinking about it isn't going to bring her back."

"I wish I could go back and do it all again, differently." He mumbled. "I wish they hadn't gotten away from us in Kenya. This never should have been able to happen."

"What's done is done Elvis. And I know full well if Jess could see us both sitting here now she'd kill us both." It brought a faint smile to her face, she could picture Jess standing there in front of them now telling them to lighten up and get on with things. "I know that there's not going to be a day that goes by that either of us don't think about her, and wonder what might've happened if things were different, but we're still here Elvis and she wouldn't want you to throw everything you've got away because of this. You're brilliant at your job, and god knows how many people you saved that day. It was an accident, everyone knows that."

"Do you think?" His voice was small and childlike, he finally turned to look at her.

"I know." She told him firmly. "Now come on, Georgie is worried about you."

He pulled her into a hug as they stood up. "I am sorry, really." He whispered into her ear.

"I know Elvis, me too." She replied, returning the hug.


	40. Chapter 40

Elvis had barely said a word the whole way back to her parents house. He'd talked to Charles for a couple of minutes at the church after Molly had dragged him over there, then he'd very quickly muttered some excuse about Georgie needing to get home and dragged her away.

She knew she'd put a lot of pressure on him, dragging him down to the funeral, and she was seriously starting to question if she'd actually done the right thing. She'd thought maybe if he had a chance to say goodbye, and speak to Molly, that it would help him with his guilt and grief. She hadn't really thought through the fact that he'd be forced to come face to face with all of the friends and family that would miss Jess.

He'd jumped out of the car and run up the stairs, ignoring the greeting her mum had called out to him, and she'd run after him. She knew at some point this stoney exterior he'd managed to maintain almost constantly since that day had to crack eventually. A lot had happened between them and she still wasn't really sure where they stood, but she wasn't about to let him go through this on his own.

He was in his usual position, laying on the left hand side of her bed- which had somehow become his side of the bed, again- staring vacantly at the ceiling. He flinched a little at the sound of her closing the bedroom door behind her as she came in and laid down behind him. She hesitated for a second, then covered his hand with hers and rolled onto her side to face him.

"Elvis." She prompted him after a moment. She could see from the frown on his face he'd got something on his mind, he just didn't seem to be able to put it into words.

"All those people Georgie." He whispered. He carried on staring studiously at the ceiling, because he knew if he looked at her he was going to lose it completely, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually shown some kind of emotion in front of anyone. He wasn't about to start now.

"I shouldn't have insisted on going." She sighed. "I thought if you saw Molly and had a chance to talk about it then it might help."

"She might say she's forgiven me and all that but she never will." He frowned. "She's going to look at me and see the person who killed her friend."

"She wouldn't have said it if she didn't mean it." Georgie quietly tried to reason with him. She hated seeing him like this, she'd never seen him look so defeated. Nothing she said or did seemed to be getting through to him and she'd long run out of ideas.

"Yes she would. People say shit they don't mean all the time." He answered, and she could tell from the tone of his voice that he wasn't just talking about Jess anymore.

"What are you trying to say Elvis?" She asked. "Because whatever it is just spit it out."

"You said you couldn't imagine spending the rest of your life not being with me." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Then you went and found yourself someone else."

She had to bite her tongue to control herself, trying to remind herself that he was upset and hurting and he didn't mean it. "I was there Elvis, standing at the altar in my wedding dress waiting for you. Don't try and put this on me. You made the choice not to turn up." She'd been tiptoeing around this ever since he'd turned up on her doorstep, trying to avoid this confrontation that she knew had to come at some point, but apparently he'd decided he wanted to get into it. She might as well get some answers.

"I didn't exactly have a choice." She hadn't been expecting the quiet sadness of his voice. She'd been expecting him to get angry and try and tell her that it had all been her fault.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, hesitating. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted the answer- it had been easier thinking of him as the bad guy in all that had happened and hating him for it, it helped to mask the feelings she still had for him and really wished she hadn't.

"She turned up on the doorstep and turned everything upside down… I'd suddenly got this little girl that I knew nothing about- what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just turn up and marry you and then hope you'd be okay with it."

She had already sort of known this, Charles had eventually cracked under immense pressure and told her about the fact Elvis had a daughter he hadn't known about, but she'd promised not to tell him.

"It didn't mean you couldn't have turned up and told me, let me make my own bloody mind up." She was still angry, she probably always would be when she thought of that day, but more than anything she was sad- wondering what might've been.

"I regret that every day." He whispered. "I never stopped loving you."

"I know, that was never the problem Elvis." She hesitated for a second, then her fingers wound their way into his hair, pulling him closer to her.

* * *

"Say something." Charles pleaded, putting a cup of tea down in front of her. She had barely said two words to him since she'd gone off to talk to Elvis. He'd tried to ask what had been said between the two of them but she'd shut him down straight away. He'd been hopeful that it might give her some badly needed closure, but maybe he'd been wrong.

She looked up at him, biting her lip. "I'm sorry." She said eventually. She didn't know how to put what she wanted to say into words that he might understand.

"What?" He asked before his brain had a chance to process the words coming out of his mouth, turning to face her from the doorway of the kitchen.

She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "I'm sorry, I had all these plans for when you got back- thought I'd surprise you, do something all romantic and whatever. Instead you've just been stuck here babysitting me." She finally said the words out loud that had been going around in her head for days.

"You didn't plan this Molly, none of us did." He reminded her, coming to sit on the arm of the sofa beside her. "It might not have been the reunion that either of us wanted but we're both here and that's the main thing." He didn't add that they'd probably get another chance for a reunion soon enough- he was bound to find himself being sent off somewhere else soon, but they'd have to cross that bridge when they came to it he'd decided.

"That's not what I mean… I don't… I've been looking forward to having you back for weeks, it's all me and Jess have been talking about- what I was going to do when you finally came back to me… then it all just went to shit didn't it." She pulled at her hair, she was getting agitated just thinking about it.

He put an arm around her and pulled her towards him, trying to think what to say that wasn't just going to upset her more. "I know, but we're here now and that's all that really matters. We'll let things get back to.. Well I was going to say normal but I don't think that's really the word is it? But you know what I mean… then maybe we can celebrate or whatever you had in mind?"

She rested her head against his chest, just enjoying the fact that he really was finally back with her and they were both safe. "I'd like that." She whispered. "Elvis was great and all that, but I really wish you'd been here."

He paused to kiss the top of her head. He couldn't even put into words how worried he'd been, and being trapped several thousand miles away in Nepal had only added to it. He'd trust Elvis with his life, and had on many occasions, but he still felt better now he was back and could physically see she was safe, even if it was going to take more than a few weeks for her to actually be okay after what had happened.

She still woke up screaming most nights, and he was struggling to understand if that was because of what had happened at the hospital with Jess or if she was still having the nightmares Elvis had told him about while he'd been away. He had tried to talk to her on several occasions, and she'd shut him down straight away. When he'd pushed it she'd gone and locked herself in the bathroom and ignored him for the best part of an hour and he hadn't dared go there again since. Instead he just woke her up, reminded her she was safe from whatever it was and then she'd curl into him until she fell asleep again. He was finding it incredibly frustrating, he just wished she would talk to him about whatever it was that was bothering her.

"I am here now." He reminded her gently. "You can talk to me, I'm not going to run off or anything."

"You probably would if you had half a brain." She tried to joke but he could see he'd hit a nerve.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at her expectantly.

"It's fine, I just sometimes have dreams about it y'know." She mumbled, trying to brush off his concern. "They got better for a while, they'll go away again soon probably." In actual fact she was fairly sure she'd be haunted by them every time she closed her eyes for the rest of her life. Especially now she had a whole new set of events to have nightmares about. She'd lost count of how many times she'd had the same nightmare this week. She'd watched Jess get shot every time she'd fallen asleep this week.

"You don't have to pretend it's okay." He frowned. "Especially not with me."

She looked at him, and forced a half smile. "I'm not doing it for you Charles. I'm doing it for me, because I don't want to think about what happened in there. I'd rather just pretend it happened someone else and it's all just a nightmare I'm having." She was more than a little frightened that if she let herself feel everything she'd bottled up when she originally got home she might never come out of the other side of it.

"I'm not sure that's really the best idea." He couldn't help himself, it was really bothering him the fact she was so intent on pretending none of it had happened.

"It doesn't really matter what you think." She muttered, getting up off the sofa. She needed some space to think. "I can remember _everything_ Charles. Every fucking second, every time they touched me. Excuse me if I don't want to go back over it all in my head just to make you feel better about it."

She turned around and ran up the stairs before he could say anything. He thought about following her for a minute then thought better of it. Anything he said now was going to end up in an argument. She was grieving, and he understood that, but it didn't stop him feeling frustrated at her determination not to let him in.


	41. Chapter 41

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" She yelled as he walked through the front door of her parents house. She threw the cloth she was holding in her hands, the same one she'd been aggressively cleaning the kitchen with for a couple of hours to try and distract herself, and walked out into the hallway to find him.

"I told you I was going for a run." He shrugged.

"That was seven hours ago Elvis!" She reminded him angrily. It was like he was trying to remind herhim why she didn't want to be with him today. "I've been calling you all afternoon!"

He shrugged, one foot on the bottom step of the stairs. "I felt like a long run?" He'd always been crap at lying to her, or she'd just been really good at knowing when he was lying- either way she was giving him a look that made it very clear she didn't believe a word he said.

"Did you really think I was going to fall for that one?" She snapped. "Honestly Elvis, whatever you want to do is your business but you could've at least sent me a text so I knew you were still alive!" She called up the stairs after him as he ran up taking the stairs two at a time.

Her parents had gone away for the weekend, and she'd been there on her own staring at the door as she waited for him to come back. She'd convinced herself that something terrible had happened to him, or that he'd just finally realised he still didn't want her and walked out on her again. Then she'd started to get angry with him. Angry that no matter how hard she tried he just wouldn't let her in, but he still expected her to be there for him when he needed someone to comfort him in the middle of the night, even if he point blank refused to tell her what it was that was keeping him awake. Angry at him for leaving her at the altar… angry at him for the fact she still loved him.

It was the angry part of her that had sent her marching up the stairs after him. She'd burst into the bathroom, her Dad still hadn't fixed the lock that he'd been saying he was going to do since she was a teenager. He looked more than a little bit startled at the intrusion, she stood there glaring at him through the glass of the shower, hands on her hips as she watched him.

"What?" She could hear the irritation in his voice.

"I don't know Elvis, why don't you tell me what's going on because I haven't got a fucking clue?" She pulled at her ponytail tail, pacing across the small bathroom.

"Could this maybe wait until I've finished?" He asked. He really hadn't been expecting her to follow him and march in there after him.

"What so you've got time to come up with something to fob me off with?" She asked sarcastically. "I'm not doing this again Elvis."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She could hear he was starting to get angry with her. It was a bit of a relief. She'd spent the week that had passed since the funeral tiptoeing around him for fear of upsetting him and trying to hide her frustration.

He climbed out of the shower and reached past her for a towel, wrapping it around himself and then standing in front of her waiting for an answer. All she could think of in that moment was the fact her mum would be going nuts if she could see him dripping water all over the floor.

"I'm not going to do this again Elvis." She said quietly, looking down at her slippers. She shouldn't have followed him up here, whatever it was he obviously didn't trust her enough to tell her, and maybe that was all the confirmation she needed. This couldn't work.

"What the hell does that mean?" He closed the distance between them in a second, his breath warm on her face and his grip on her arm like a vice.

"Us." She answered, looking up at him. She saw the look of confusion cross his face. "Whatever this is, was, it can't work can it? I don't know what I was thinking. I can't drive myself insane sitting here wondering where the hell you are and what you're doing this time."

"I'd give it all up for you in a heartbeat." His answer came straight away, he didn't even need to think about it.

"I don't want you to give it all up for me Elvis." She told him, his grip on her arm relaxed but he didn't move away from her. They were close enough that if she leant forward a couple of inches she could probably kiss him, and she had to remind herself exactly why she shouldn't do that.

"I want to." He looked at her pleadingly. Since everything that had happened and him turning up on her doorstep they'd sort of fallen into this routine and he'd felt like he'd almost got her back. He hadn't dared push it, but now he was thinking maybe he should've done because somewhere along the line she seemed to have decided he didn't care.

She shook her head. "You live for your job Elvis, you love it. You might not feel like that now but you'll get there again."

"I could go and work in training or something." He shrugged, his hand seemed to have found a mind of its own as it wandered up to push her hair off her face.

"What while I go off on tour?" She pointed out. "You love your job. When you turned up in Kenya to rescue Molly, you were excited Elvis. I could see it in your face. I wanted to punch you for being excited about it when her life was in danger, but you've always been like that about your job. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you'd given that all up for me. It wouldn't work Elvis. No matter how much we want it to."

His whole body seemed to deflate. "I can't go back to it Georgie. Please don't make me lose you too." He whispered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She frowned. She'd sort of forgotten about the fact they were still standing in the bathroom and he was dripping wet until he shivered.

"I did just go for a run, I didn't mean to be gone so long." He told her quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Where were you Elvis?" She asked after a moment when he didn't go any further.

He looked at her uncertainly, he'd never been good at things like this. Even when they had been together he hadn't shown much emotion around her, it made him feel very exposed and vulnerable- two things he didn't enjoy.

"Well I went out running, then Spanner called." He explained quietly. "I went to meet him and the boys. They were going through the stuff they found from the house… y'know where they were staying…. it was bad George, really bad."

"What do you mean?" She asked, although she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

"They has all these pictures of Molly. Hundreds of them. They'd been there watching her, watching me, for weeks- right outside the house. I didn't even notice them. If I had…. I should have noticed them." She could hear him getting angry again but this time it was at himself.

"If you didn't know they were there Elvis there wasn't anything you could've done." She tried to reason with him but she knew it would fall on deaf ears.

He shook his head. "It's my job George. I promised Charlie I'd keep her safe, I thought I was and they were right there. Anything could've happened!"

"But it didn't." She reminded him.

"Didn't it?" He asked quietly, she wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or her as she strained her ears to hear him. "Jess died George. I could've stopped them before it ever even got that far and then I wouldn't have been stood there having to take that fucking shot and it would all have been fine. I can't go back to my job after this. I killed someone."

She wanted to point out to him that it wasn't exactly the first time he'd shot someone, but she knew what he meant- he'd never shot someone innocent by accident before. She could understand his pain, but she wasn't going to watch him throw away everything he loved and had worked for because of one mistake.

"I don't know what you want me to say Elvis." She sighed. "We've been over and over this, no one is blaming you for what happened except you."

"I can't get it out of my head. I just… everytime I close my eyes it's like I'm there pulling that trigger over and over again. How am I supposed to live with that?" His tortured expression broke her heart. She wished she had the answers for him.

Her mind wandered back for a moment to the first time she'd lost someone. She'd felt responsible as the medic, and she still did now, for the fact she hadn't been able to get him back to his family even though she had known deep down his injuries were catastrophic. She could still see his face now as she'd promised him she'd get him back home to his daughter.

"It's difficult." She told him quietly, struggling to find the words to explain it to him. "But it gets easier in time, you'll never forget it believe me, but you learn to live with it in time. It's not a reason for you to jack everything in."

"I want to give it all up to be with you."

She shook her head. "No, you're trying to use me as an excuse to do it and it's not happening. I won't let you." She put her hands on his shoulders and she could see a look of confusion on his face for a second as he thought she was going to kiss him. She spun him around and pushed him towards the bathroom door. "Go and put some clothes on." She ordered.

* * *

Charles had breathed a sigh of relief when he'd got the message from Georgie to say Elvis had reappeared from wherever the hell he'd disappeared off to without a trace all day. He had tried calling him for her- several times. Elvis hadn't returned any of his calls since he'd picked him up when he got back from Nepal though so he couldn't even pretend to be surprised when his call had gone straight to voicemail every time. He was going to have to talk to him about whatever was going on at some point, but he'd only got enough energy to deal with one thing at a time and right now that needed to be Molly.

He was surprised to see her standing at the bottom of the stairs putting her coat and shoes on. He racked his brain for a moment, trying to remember if they were supposed to be going somewhere and he'd forgotten about it, but he came up empty. Besides it seemed pretty unlikely given the fact that she had barely left the bedroom since the day of the funeral, never mind the house.

"Where are you going?" He asked, getting up off the sofa and walking over to her.

She flinched at the sound of his voice as he took her by surprise but carried on lacing her trainers up. "To work." She states, as if it was the most obvious answer ever. She had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling and her stomach somersaulted as she stood up to face him. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but now she was standing in front of him she was having some second thoughts.

"What did you just say?" He asked, convinced he must have heard her wrong. Apparently he hadn't though, he took her stethoscope off the table in the hallway where it had been sitting for weeks and shoved it into her bag, rummaging around for her keys.

"They need me." She told him quietly. She wasn't strictly speaking sure quite how true that was, or if Paul was just trying to get back in there in the hope it would stop her leaving. She'd agreed to go in though, albeit a little reluctantly, for half a shift to help you. She'd been thinking about it for a while, she felt a bit like she needed to go back there at least once just to convince herself she was strong enough to do it and she wasn't just running away to start again somewhere new.

"I thought you weren't going back there?" He frowned. She could practically see his brain working as he tried to work out what this meant.

"I'm not." She shook her head. He opened his mouth to speak but she carried on before he could get the words out. "I said I'd go back tonight, maybe a couple of others if it's okay and they're really desperate, but that's it. Don't fight me on this, please." She felt sick to her stomach and more nervous than she had done on her first day but she was determined to make herself do it.

"Why?" He asked, he was confused as to why they were even having this conversation. She hadn't had a single night where she hadn't woken up screaming and now she was talking about going back to the place where it had happened as if everything was fine.

"Can we talk about it in the morning or whenever I get home?" She asked. She couldn't get into it with him there and then or she was going to change her mind and Paul was expecting her. She'd promised she'd been there.

Charles hesitated for a moment, she could see him trying to find the right words. He didn't look happy, but in the end he nodded reluctantly. "As long as you're sure this is what you want and no one has made you feel like you have to."

"I need to do it." She nodded. "It's just a few hours."

"Okay." He was still far from convinced, and he wouldn't be at all surprised if she was back home again within an hour, but he wasn't going to try and stop her. Maybe she was right, maybe it was what she needed to help her move on? "I'll walk with you?"

She nodded, chewing on her lip nervously again. "I'd really like that." She slid her hand into his as he pulled on his coat and opened the front door. It was comforting, having him there with her, and she felt a tiny little bit less sick to her stomach with nerves as she gripped his hand tightly and they made their way to the hospital.


	42. Chapter 42

She must have stood outside the doors for at least half an hour, gripping onto Charles as though he was her lifeline, before she'd finally plucked up the courage to go in. It all looked so normal, if she hadn't known what had happened there she would never have been able to tell. Everything had been replaced, redecorated and every trace of the horror that had occurred there removed. She decided that was probably the problem, in her head the whole place had stayed frozen in time from the moment she'd been dragged out of there by Charles. But, as she was rather painfully being reminded as she looked around the place, life had well and truly carried on without her- and Jess- and it would continue to do so whether she liked it or not.

She'd found herself really having to concentrate on walking to the staff room, one foot in front of the other. Left. Right. Left. Right. She stopped in the doorway, staring at the empty room. How many times had she stood there and had a cup of tea with Jess, she'd always been going on about something or other, filling her in on some gossip they both knew full well wasn't true but she'd loved to tell her about it anyway. They'd sat there chatting nervously when Jess had been getting her ready for the wedding with Charles. She was almost expecting her to come running in any second, coffee in her hand and a terrible excuse for why she was late for work but had still had time to get herself a coffee. But she wasn't going to, and every time she remembered it hit her like a ton of bricks all over again.

She went to her locker to put her bag away, her eyes coming to rest on the locker two down from hers that had been Jess'. She wondered if anyone else was using it or not, or if they'd decided it was too soon. She hoped not, it was weird it seemed almost sacred somehow, if they gave her locker away it was like they'd all replaced her and moved on with life. Maybe they had to a degree. She shoved her stuff away, going to find herself some scrubs so she could get ready to start her shift.

She'd only just got changed and was going back to put her clothes away when Charles had called the first time. "Are you okay?" He'd asked as soon as she answered, not even bothering with a hello. She could hear the anxiety in his voice and she felt so guilty that she'd put him in this position. She'd said she wasn't going to come back here to work, and at the time she probably hadn't realised that the look that crossed his face was relief. She hated the idea that she'd given him yet another thing to worry about.

"I'm fine." She hoped that she'd managed to sound reassuring, and not like she'd just spent ten minutes in the toilets giving herself a pep talk in the mirror. He'd be straight down there to rescue her if he thought for a second she was struggling. As much as she wanted to run home and hide in bed with him she knew if she didn't go out there and do her job she'd build it up in her head even more and she'd never come back.

"Are you sure?" He sounded doubtful. She didn't blame him. Her hand was shaking slightly as she held the phone up to her ear and she felt sick to her stomach. She'd always been a terrible liar.

"Yes." She told him quietly, hoping he'd drop it. "I need to go and get started, there's not much point in me actually being here if I'm not going to do anything is there?"

"Okay." He sighed. She could picture him pacing up and down the living room. He didn't seem to have the ability to stand still if he was on the phone to someone. "Call me if you need me, I'll be awake?"

"I will." She nodded. She knew he'd be awake because he'd be sitting there worrying about her rather than the fact that he actually wanted to stay up. She felt another pang of guilt. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled. "Now go, be brilliant." He hung up before she could say anything, which was probably good because if he'd left it to her she probably would've kept him on the phone all night just for the comfort of knowing he was right there with her.

"Hey stranger, welcome back!" Paul grinned as she walked up to the desk. He swept her up in a hug before she had a chance to realise what was coming. She felt her whole body go rigid and she had to remind herself to breathe. "Thanks for coming in, you've really saved my skin!"

"It's okay, it was probably time." She shrugged it off. The last thing she wanted to was have to have some kind of big heart to heart about everything that had happened. She'd much rather bury her feelings than talk about any of it, even with Charles. It was just easier that way. "I meant what I said though, one night only. I'm still leaving."

"Well, you never know. I might be able to win you round with my incredible charm by the end of the night." He joked.

"Paul, please don't make this any harder than it already is." She looked at him pleadingly. She needed him to understand that no matter how much she'd loved working there she couldn't stay.

"I know." He pulled her in for another hug. "I'm just saying we'll all really miss you…. both of you." They stayed there for a moment, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Come on then, I thought you needed me? I haven't got the patience to have you going soft on me all night!" She brushed a stray tear from her eye and forced herself to joke. If not she was probably going to stand here and sob on his shoulder all night. God she missed Jess.

The night had gone quickly, thankfully. She hadn't even realised what time it was until she'd gone out to reception and realised it was getting light outside. She felt bad when she realised she'd never called Charles back and she really hoped he hadn't spent all night sitting there waiting for her to call.

"Thank you." Paul grabbed her on the way back into the staff room. "And not just for last night, but for everything. I'm really going to miss you Mol."

"I'll miss you all too." She couldn't help herself, she gave him another quick hug.

"You'd better invite me to the wedding!" He winked.

"What?" She looked at him blankly as she started rummaging through her locker to clear it all out.

"Mr Tall Dark and Handsome that's waiting for you at reception! I'll expect my invite by the end of the year!" He laughed. "Anyway I've got to go, but don't be a stranger okay?"

"I promise." She smiled. "I'd better go too if he's out there waiting for me." Paul smiled and then turned and disappeared.

She cleared the last few bits out of her locker, then hesitated for a moment before she opened Jess'. Someone had taken the lock of it, and she was expecting it to be empty- but everything was still sat there exactly as it had been when Jess had left it. She guessed someone had maybe taken her lunch or something out of it, or maybe they'd cut the lock off ready to clear it out and never got round to it.

She stood there, staring at it for a moment. The hair brush laying on the shelf still had a couple of strands of hair caught in it, there was a half written food shopping list beside it. Stuck to the inside of the door was a photo of Molly and Jess, grinning into the camera from behind the nurses station. She reached out a trembling hand to take it down, staring at it for a moment before she slipped it into her bag. She hadn't even realised until the other day how few photos she'd actually got of the two of them.

Her fingers skimmed the smooth plastic of her ID badge, the photo of Jess on it had to be at least ten years old. She looked like an entirely different person- so young. God she missed her.

She closed the locker again after a couple more minutes of staring at the contents, knowing that if she didn't make herself move away soon she would stand there all day staring at it and wishing Jess was about to come back through the door.

Charles was waiting for her, she reminded herself, slowly closing the locker again and walking out to find him.


	43. Chapter 43

"How was it?" He asked, almost reluctantly, when they got back home. She was standing in the kitchen in her scrubs making a cup of tea. She looked absolutely exhausted but when he'd suggested she go to bed she'd just shook her head at him. She hadn't really said much to him at all when he'd met her after her shift

She didn't answer him straight away, finishing the tea bag out of her mug and tossing it in the bin. "It was okay." She answered slowly. She didn't really know what to say about it. Okay was probably the closest she was going to get.

"Okay?" He crossed his arms and leant against the counter opposite her. She could see him watching her, trying to read her expression for some sort of clue. He wasn't going to admit it to her but he'd spent a large portion of the evening sitting there staring at his phone waiting for her to call and ask him to pick her up. Eventually he'd fallen asleep on the sofa and then woken up feeling incredibly guilty that she might've needed him and he was asleep.

"It was…." she pulled a face. "It was weird to start with but then, we'll I don't know… it was just sort of like nothing had ever happened and I was just there doing my job and I didn't really think about it."

"That's really good." He looked visibly relieved.

"I guess? I don't know it was great, you know I love my job. Then I finished and I felt so guilty… I'd just like forgotten all about her for the whole shift. I almost expected her to walk in with the day shift to get the handover." She sipped at her tea, trying to find the right words explain to him what she meant. "Just the whole thing. It's like it never happened. Everything's been replaced and cleaned and it's just like life is going on as normal like she was never even there in the first place. I just don't want everyone to forget about her… I don't want to forget about her Charles." Her voice cracked at the end.

He crossed the kitchen and three steps and pulled her into him, holding her tightly. "You're not going to. No one is." His voice was firm, like she was talking about someone completely impossible. She really wanted to believe him.

"Her locker is still there and all her stuff is still in it like she's about to come back any second… I don't know, it's just so weird being there without her. It literally felt like she could walk in any second and start telling me about some stupid thing she'd done at the weekend."

"It's going to be like that for a long time." He reminded her gently. "It'll feel weird, your life is going to carry on without her, but it doesn't mean you've forgotten about her."

"I know." Her words were muffled against his chest as she relaxed into him. How much comfort she could get just from being in his arms would never cease to amaze her.

"Do you think you'll go back again?" He asked the question that had been on his mind all night. She'd been adamant it was a one time thing and she needed a fresh start but he wasn't convinced that she had rushed into her decision.

"I don't know." She sighed. She'd been thinking it over ever since her shift finished. "It was nice being back there with everyone and that but I'm not sure I could go back there."

"Well you don't have to make your mind up right now." He reminded her. "What you do need to do though is get some sleep. Georgie rang and asked if her and Elvis could come down later? I didn't think you'd mind but I can call her back if not?"

She shook her head. "No it's fine. What time are they coming? Id better get some sleep." She'd suddenly hit a wall of tiredness and could hardly keep her eyes open.

"Not until this afternoon. I told them they'd better let you sleep first or you might bite their heads off." He laughed. "Sleep deprived Molly is not my favourite."

"Cheeky git." She jabbed him in the ribs. "I've been hard at work saving lives while you were fast asleep!"

"I know." He grinned at her. "I'm proud of you."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I haven't had enough sleep to deal with you getting all soppy on me. I'm going to bed!"

"Can I come?" His grin widened.

"You do know I'm going to be asleep the second my head hits the pillow and I've got a special talent for snoring after a night shift." She laughed.

"I know." He nodded. "But I've missed you, and I might've spent a lot of the night sitting here worrying about you so I could probably do with a nap before I have to deal with Elvis."

"You don't have to make up an excuse, you know I'm not going to kick you out." She laughed, already at the bottom of the stairs. She needed to shower too but that might have to wait until she'd had a sleep. The idea of going up the stairs seemed like a lot of work at the moment never mind anything else.

"Come on then Dawes get moving, don't make me carry you!" She shrieked with laughter as he threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

"Charles! Put me down!" She gasped. She could barely get the words out through her laughter as he climbed the stairs two at a time as if she wasn't even there then dropped her down on the bed grinning at her.

"That was a little bit more how I'd pictured coming home." He smirked. "Throwing you over my shoulder and dragging you off to bed."

"Well…. you could always make it up to me now." She suggested.

"I thought you were too tired to do anything other than sleep?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, it turns out being carried up the stairs upside down has woken me back up." She laughed.

"I'll remember that next time you complain about being tired." He winked, laying down on the bed beside her. He gently brushed her hair off her face. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled, leaning in to kiss him.


	44. Chapter 44

She was still on the sofa in one of his shirts and a pair of leggings when Georgie and Elvis turned up. She was still half asleep, the effects of the night catching up with her, she stretched and yawned trying to wake up. She had a feeling she might not be very good company.

"Hey!" Georgie grinned, coming through the door with Elvis close behind her.

"Hi, sorry I was just going to go and get changed." She started to get up. "I was just catching up on some sleep from last night."

"Don't worry about it, really." Georgie smiled. "Charles said you were going back! How was it?" She glanced over at Elvis who was mumbling something to Charles before turning her full attention back to Molly.

"It was actually okay." Molly said slowly. "Like weirdly okay. It was a bit strange to start but I don't know, I guess I just sort of got busy and got on with it. Felt good to be back to be honest with you, like maybe things are actually getting back to normal." She felt the guilt twist in her stomach again at the thought of the new normal in her life being without Jess.

"It'll take some getting used to, the new normal." Georgie said softly. "It's good that you've been back though. That's the hardest part."

"I know. It took me a while to realise. I'm lucky that I had Charles to push me in the right direction. Mind you he didn't exactly look happy when I said I was going back to work." She laughed quietly.

Georgie rolled her eyes. "He always has worried too much. It's the army captain in him I'm afraid."

"Speaking of, how are things with you and Elvis?" Molly dropped her voice to a low whisper, not that she needed to have worried. Charles and Elvis were deep in conversation of their own.

Georgie paused for a moment, looking for the words. "I don't know." She whispered. "I'm still not really sure where we stand. It's been…. difficult. He's talking about leaving the army and settling down."

"You what?" Her voice was loud enough that Charles and Elvis both looked up.

Georgie nodded towards the kitchen. "Can we?"

Molly nodded, jumping up. "Do either of you want a drink?" She asked Charles and Elvis as they disappeared into the kitchen.

"I think there's some beers in the fridge please." Charles smiled.

She shut the door behind them once they were in the kitchen. "So is this because he actually wants to leave or because he thinks you won't want to be with him if he stays? Or something else?"

Georgie pulled a face. She'd been trying to get her head around it and she still wasn't sure. "I don't know. He's adamant this is what he wants. I'm just worried he's going to regret it."

"Do you want him to leave so you can settle down?" Molly asked, straight to the point. "Do you even want to be with him after what happened? You've not forgotten about the part where he left you at the altar right?"

"No. I haven't." She'd hit the nail on the head really. "I want him to do whatever's going to make him happy, what's going to make both of us happy." Georgie sighed. "I don't know what to think. I'm not ready to leave the army, I know that much. I don't know what I was thinking letting Jamie talk me into it. I just… Well I don't know, I need to decide if I can really trust him after that? It's weird at the moment he's just sort of there, it's like nothing ever happened almost- well apart from the fact he's a total mess. But I mean between the two of us."

"Do you love him?" Molly asked, rummaging in the fridge for drinks.

"I never stopped loving him." Georgie answered quietly. "That was never the problem. I guess maybe I'm just worried this might be more down to what happened with your friend."

"He can't use Jess as an excuse to quit his job. She'd bloody kill him if she knew." Molly joked, pouring them a glass of wine each. "I'm a bit surprised. I think I thought with him being a soldier and that he'd just sort of move on from what happened. She's my friend but at the end of the day it's his job, it can't be the first time." She handed Georgie a glass of wine and leant back against the kitchen counter.

"The first time he's shot someone?" Georgie looked surprised. "No. It's an Occupational hazard. But this is different. She was innocent and caught up in the middle of it, I'm not sure he'll ever entirely forgive himself for that. I was hoping Charles might talk some sense into him before he does something stupid, but I don't know… maybe it's too late."

Molly paused for a second trying to work out how to put what she needed to say. "I know I haven't known you that long, but just be careful. You need to make sure, that if you two are going to try again, that you're doing it for the right reasons… not just because you feel responsible for him."

Georgie grimaced. Molly was sounding exactly like her mother. "I know. I just need to find a way to work that out."

Molly smiled sympathetically.

"Anyway, how about you and Charles?" Georgie asked, changing the subject. "The lads all wanted to know what or rather who had put him in such a good mood." She winked.

Molly felt herself blush. "Things are good. Really good." She grinned. "Although I do feel a bit bad that he came home and things were such a mess."

Georgie shrugged. "It couldn't have been helped, he was worried but at least he knew Elvis was here. If not I think he might've actually lost it being stuck in Nepal and not being able to do anything."

"Elvis was great, apart from when I asked him not to tell Charles." Molly laughed quietly.

Georgie rolled her eyes. "Yeah you'll have to get used to that, there's no secrets with them two. God knows what they're talking about out there now."

"I can only imagine." Molly snorted. "Maybe we're best off not knowing."

Georgie laughed, nodding in agreement. "Who'd have thought though, you and Charles! I thought when you put him in his place at the clinic I was going to have to spend my whole tour breaking up your arguments… now look at you!"

"I know… I keep waiting for him to realise and it to all fall apart." Molly grimaced.

Georgie smiled. "He's a good guy Charles, really. You can trust him. And anyway I've seen the way he looks at you, he loves you, he's not going anywhere."

* * *

"You knew full well I wasn't going to support this!" Charles sighed in exasperation. They were going round in circles. "You're doing this because of what happened, not because you actually want to leave."

"I need to do this Charlie." Elvis argued. As expected Charles had taken the news of his decision to leave just about as well has Georgie had. "Anyway I'm not saying I'll leave all together. Maybe i'll go and work in training or something." He shrugged.

"You're making a mistake." Charles told him bluntly. "Don't say I didn't try and warn you."

"How can you be so sure?" Elvis frowned.

"Because I know you. You live for the adrenaline and the excitement of going off on a mission. You won't last five minutes without it."

"Maybe I've changed? I can't carry on doing it forever. I've gotta settle down eventually." Elvis said.

"Ah." It clicked in Charles' brain. "So you're trying to say you're doing this for Georgie?"

"I want to make things work this time. I've already fucked it up enough."

"If you think she's going to thank you for this then you've got another thing coming. Have you actually told her?" Charles asked, shaking his head. He hadn't actually believed what he was hearing when Elvis had first told him. It might actually be the most stupid idea Elvis had ever had, and that was really saying something.

"Yeah." Elvis grimaced. "She said the same thing as you."

"Did you ever think that maybe that's because we are right?" Charles raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't know if you're doing this because you're still beating yourself up over what happened with Jess, or because you think it's going to win Georgie round. Either of them would be a stupid reason to throw away everything you've worked for."

"I just-"

Charles shook his head and cut him off. "You need to be talking to Georgie about this. Remember how well you trying to keep secrets from her went last time?"

Elvis cringed. "Yeah. I should've married her when I had the chance the first time around, I know. But I'm not about to screw it up again."

"Well, don't go making any crazy decisions then. Okay?"

"Yes sir." Elvis answered sarcastically, but with a smile on his lips as he gave his friend a mock salute. "Now where are these beers anyway?"


	45. Chapter 45

_So shockingly I've actually nearly finished this, there's only one more chapter left to come after this and I'm actually a bit sad that it's almost done I really hope you've all enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing!x_

* * *

"I'm going to go and help Charles wash up. You know what he's like, he'll be in there all night." Molly announced, with a pointed look at Georgie. She hauled herself up off the sofa, with difficulty, gathering up the last couple of plates and takeaway boxes from the Chinese and headed into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

"You don't have to do that." Charles quickly came and took them off her. "You go and chat to Georgie, I won't be long."

Molly shook her head, leaning against the counter beside the sink and watching him as he washed the last couple of things. "We're staying in here. They need time to talk."

Charles frowned. "What?"

"You heard me." Molly rolled her eyes at him. "They need some time for the two of them to talk. They've got a lot they need to sort out." She still wasn't really sure which way Georgie's decision had gone. She watched her friend as she sat quietly and picked at her food, watching Elvis out of the corner of her eye the entire time. She knew she'd made some kind of decision about what was going to happen, and she needed to talk to Elvis about it without having Molly and Charles there as an audience.

"I really hope things work out alright for them this time. They both deserve it." Charles mused out loud, drying his hands and throwing the towel back down. He turned to Molly.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that mate." She grimaced. She couldn't hear exactly what was being said in the room next door but from the tone she guessed it probably wasn't good news.

Charles cringed. "Did you know this was coming?"

She shook her head. "She still wasn't sure when we were talking about it earlier. I just told her to do what she thought was going to be for the best for both of them."

"There you go again with those words of wisdom." He teased. He held out his arms and she stepped forward to snuggle herself against his chest. It was very quickly becoming her favourite place to be and she knew it was going to hurt even more than last time when he had to go away again. She pushed the thought to one side, she would worry about that when the time came.

"Well, what can I say." She winked. "For once I'm the one giving the advice and not needing it. Jess would be real proud of me right about now."

"I know." Charles kissed the top of her head. "I'm proud of you too. It can't have been easy going back there."

"It wasn't." She admitted quietly, her fingers twisting into the material of his shirt. "But I needed to do it, I can't just keep running away from things and starting over so I don't have to deal with them."

"You're going back there aren't you?" He already knew the answer, he wasn't really sure why he was asking the question.

Molly looked up at him, biting on her lip. "I've not committed to anything yet. I'm just thinking about it… I don't know it just sort of feels… right? That place, those people, literally saved me from myself when I came back from Kenya and I don't think I even realised it at the time. They've offered me some counselling, you know after what happened, which I'd have to do if I wanted to go back properly. I could probably suffer through that if I had to."

"You know it might actually help." He frowned at her. She looked up at him skeptically. "I'm just saying, you've had a lot happen to you in a very short space of time. More things than anyone should ever have to try to deal with in a lifetime. You know I'll always listen to you, but maybe it might help to talk to someone who wasn't there?"

"Maybe." She nodded. "I don't know, I'll think about it." She'd always hated the idea of anything like that, but maybe he was right. Well she knew he was really, he was always right and it was infuriating. If it was going to help her get her fresh start and be happy with Charles maybe she ought to try it. He grinned at her and she could see it in his face that he knew he'd won.

"You're lucky I love you." She laughed.

"Ditto." He grinned, leaning down to kiss her.

* * *

"I said I'd give it all up for you Georgie! All of it." Elvis pleaded. "What more do you want me to say?" He'd be lying if he tried to say it didn't hurt, hearing her say that she didn't want him back. It had been the last thing he'd been expecting. After everything that had happened he'd convinced himself that at least one good thing had come out of it because he'd still got Georgie. Apparently he'd been wrong.

"You're not listening to me though Elvis and that's the problem!" He'd barely let her get a word in edgeways after she'd answered his question of what was bothering her. She knew she needed to do this, she couldn't let him carry on thinking that everything was fine and they were just going to pick up where they'd left off, she just hadn't imagined it being quite so difficult either.

"Well excuse me for actually caring about you." He spat back at her.

She picked herself up and went to perch on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. She'd been trying to keep her distance to make things easier but clearly it wasn't working. "Elvis." She put a finger under his chin and forced him to look at her. "I didn't say that I didn't want this, what I'm saying is that we need some time. Both of us."

"I know what I want." He argued.

She shook her head. "You need to sort your world out Elvis, and everything in it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He was practically pouting at her and she struggled not to laugh.

"It means that a terrible thing happened, and now you're questioning the career you've spent your whole life working for. That's not the Elvis I know, and I need you to take some time and make sure that all these decisions you're making are actually the right ones." She told him softly, her fingers moving to brush his hair off his face. "You know I love you Elvis, I loved you back then and I still do now. If it's meant to be then a few weeks isn't going to hurt. I don't want you doing something you're going to regret in a couple of years because it made you feel safe and it was easy for us to just fall back into a relationship."

"You know that it's not going to change anything?" He was frustrated. He couldn't see the point in them waiting if they were both happy.

"I hope not." She whispered. "But if it does, then that's okay too. A lot has happened Elvis, we aren't the same people we were." She fought the urge for a moment, but gave in and leant forward to kiss him, their lips crashing together with such an intensity she almost forgot about her need to breathe.

"So what does this mean?" Elvis asked quietly when they eventually pulled apart, he was still trying to catch his breath.

"You're going to stay here with Charles and I'm going to go back to Manchester." She told him, standing up to put some space between them again. There was no need to make this even harder than they already had.

"And?"

"And then I'm hoping, that once you've been back to work and decided what you really want to do, that maybe you'll come back to me." She said hesitantly. It was still there, that fear that maybe he'd hurt her again like he had the day she'd almost married him. Molly had been right, she still needed to learn how to trust him again."

"I will. You know I will." He said it with such conviction she almost believed it herself. She didn't want to push him away, it had somehow been even harder than she'd imagined, but she knew she needed to give him the space to clear his head and make a decision that wasn't driven by guilt and the fact he missed her.

She grabbed her bag and her jacket, making a beeline for the door before she went and took back everything she'd just said.. "I hope so, goodbye Elvis."


	46. Chapter 46

**Three Years Later**

"What are you thinking about, Mrs James?" His voice was low and quiet in her ear, it made all the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She didn't think she'd ever get used to hearing him say those words. "You've gone all quiet on me, it's not something I'm used too." They stood to one side, watching their friends and family as they danced and chatted. It seemed like it was the first time they'd had five minutes to themselves all day.

She grinned, leaning into him as his arm wound around her waist. "I'm just thinking." She grinned.

"About how lucky you are to be my wife?" He winked.

"Actually, I'm thinking about how much these bloody shoes hurt!" She joked. "I never did thank you for sending your mother with me to pick the dress!" The shoes his mother had insisted she had to have to go with the dress, even though they'd cost an absolute fortune, were beautiful but also dangerously high and ridiculously uncomfortable.

His eyes ran down the length of her body again, just as they had done when she'd walked down the aisle towards him earlier that day, his smile widened. "I think I should be thanking her. Have I told you how amazing you look?"

"Only about a thousand times." She laughed, shaking her head. She couldn't believe she was actually standing there with him, the ring sparkling on her finger every time it caught the light proof that she was actually his wife.

"Well, you'd best make it a thousand and one then… I'm so happy, I can't believe it." He was fairly certain his face was starting to hurt from the stupid grin he'd had on his face all day.

"Ditto." She laughed.

"Bleedin' Ditto… I'd hoped maybe you'd got something a little bit more romantic for me than that Dawes!" He pretended to be offended.

"Back to Dawes again already am I?" She laughed, elbowing him playfully. "Could've maybe waited until the wedding reception was over at least!"

"Oh I don't know, I thought maybe I'd keep you around until after the honeymoon at least… seems like a waste of a good holiday." He joked. He'd been looking forward to two weeks alone in the Caribbean with his wife almost as much as finally getting to make her his wife. They'd both been so busy in the lead up to the wedding that he couldn't wait for some peace and quiet and to actually get to spend some time with her.

"I could make it worth your while." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"We'll come back to that later." He bit down on his lip. As much as he loved seeing her in that dress he was looking forward to helping her out of it later. "But right now I can see my mother headed this way and I don't think she needs to hear this."

* * *

"You know what they say about the best man and the maid of honour…" Elvis whispered, sliding into the seat next to her, that stupid grin that had been on his face ever since he got back from Syria was still there.

"I'm not sure that still applies if the maid of honour is actually your pregnant fiancée." Georgie snorted with laughter. "I think it's sort of a given that I'll be coming to bed with you later."

"I know, but I still like to check." He winked. "It wasn't that long ago I thought you wanted me dead. I'm glad we're past that stage now." He laughed.

"We might be back there if this child of yours doesn't stop making me throw up constantly." She grumbled. There'd been an awful moment as she'd stood there watching Charles and Molly say their vows where she'd actually thought she might throw up all over them. That would've taken some explaining since they hadn't actually told anyone yet. She smiled to herself as Elvis snaked his arm around her waist, his hand coming to rest in its new favourite place on her still flat stomach.

"I can't believe there's actually a little person in there." He whispered in her ear, she could hear in his voice he was smiling.

She'd been a bit frightened to begin with, that even with everything having been so good between them and the fact that he'd proposed- again- that this might be the thing that made him run for the hills all over again. She needn't have worried as it turned out, he'd been the happiest she'd ever seen him, he'd more or less gone straight into looking at ways he could carry on doing his job but not have to be away from home so much. It was looking like he might be going to that job in training he'd threatened to take all those years ago after all. It didn't fill her with the same sense of dread it had when he'd suggested it that time though- this time she knew he was doing it for the right reasons and not just because he was scared and running away from his problems.

"I know." She grinned, her hands resting on top of his. "Who'd have thought hey, Molly and Charles getting married, me and you back together… whatever next?"

"Flying pigs?" He suggested.

"If you'd asked me a few years ago I would've told you that was more likely than me and you getting married." She laughed.

"Ouch!" He shook his head. "You know I love you. I'm not going to let you down again." He was suddenly serious.

"I know. I love you too, and I trust you not too." She told him quietly, twisting in her seat to kiss him.

* * *

"Are you alright?" He asked. He was very conscious of the fact that the wedding seemed to be overrun with distant relatives of his that his Mother had insisted they invite, when there wasn't a single member of Molly's family there- something which some members of his family seemed to think they needed to keep bringing up.

"It's fine." She tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. "I'm not even sure why I'm surprised. I should've known they wouldn't turn up."

She'd had the invitation for her parents sitting on the kitchen windowsill for weeks before she'd finally plucked up the courage to post it to them. When she'd pictured getting married she hadn't pictured the sadness she felt at the fact that not only was her best friend missing, but her entire family hadn't bothered to turn up either. Then again, maybe that was her own fault for not having learned her lesson where Dave was concerned.

"You don't need them, you did this all on your own." He reminded her gently. "You're a consultant now, they told you that you couldn't do that and you proved them wrong. You don't need them here for this either."

"Not technically, I don't actually start for another month." She reminded him.

"Yeah well that's a tiny detail." He dismissed her. "You also managed to find yourself a pretty great husband!"

"Really? Where is he then?" She joked.

"See, that's better. You're smiling again." He breathed a sigh of relief. "What I'm trying to say is you've done this all on your own, don't let them ruin your day without them even being here. You've been through a lot to get this far, just enjoy it… please?" He kissed her forehead softly.

"I know… it's just weird you know? Without mum and Dad here and Jess is missing as well… and then going back to a different job and a whole new set of people. It's like starting over again."

"Maybe that's for the best, a nice fresh start?" He shrugged. He could see that it had been at the back of her mind bothering her. It had taken her a long time to make a decision about taking the job she'd been offered, and he knew a lot of it was because she felt guilty about leaving the hospital after everything that had happened. He on the other hand, was more or less convinced that the chance for them to move away and start a fresh was going to be the best way for them to start their marriage.

"Fresh starts it is." She agreed quietly, raising her glass up to meet his.

"Come on then Mrs James, I believe you owe me a dance." He took her glass from her and placed it down beside his before taking her hand and pulling her onto the dance floor, surrounded by their family and friends.

* * *

 _So i just wanted to say again a massive thank you to everyoneshos stuck with this and actually read all the way to the end! I never intended for this to end up this long but I've been enjoying writing it too much and it sort of ran away with me- but we have now finally reached the end! I've loved reading all your comments and I really hope you've all enjoyed reading it!_

 _p.s. I might've already started a new story which will be here for you all to read soon_

 _Bex xx_


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